How to Save a Life
by endgamefinchel
Summary: "The day started off as just a normal Wednesday in New York City, it was the same routine everyday: he woke up, got ready, and then went to work. But he didn't expect for this to happen; he didn't expect to save someone's life. Now here she is; sleeping on his couch, in the wee hours of the morning."
1. Chapter 1

The day started off as just a normal Wednesday in New York City, it was the same routine everyday: he woke up, got ready, and then went to work. But he didn't expect for _this_ to happen; he didn't expect to save someone's life. Now here she is; sleeping on his couch, in the wee hours of the morning.

_The previous day_

Finn Hudson never thought of himself as really anyone special; he lived in a small apartment in NYC, with just him, his pen and paper. He had a passion for writing; so landing the job as the 'New York Times' sports editor was what you could call a pretty big deal for him.

He was awoken by the sound of his alarm clock going off, like it does every morning at 5am, took a quick shower, got dressed in a blue and white stripped button down, a pair of khakis, a casual tie, and his dress shoes, brewed up a quick cup of coffee, and was off to work.

As Finn entered the office, he greeted his co-workers, more like close friends now, with smiles, waves, and 'hellos' before heading into his personal office. He had a lot to do today, the Giants had won the game and he was ready to write a long report for his column all about it.

Just as he was ready to begin typing, Quinn Fabray, his assistant popped her head into his office "Good morning, Finn! How is the report coming along? It needs to be finished soon in order for it to be published in time for the paper!"

"I-uh, actually was just about to start! But I'll be done with it soon, two hours tops!"

"Great, I guess I'll be checking in with you again shortly!" Finn then gave her a slight nod, with her return of a small smile.

Finn left his gaze at the placement where she was standing moments ago. Quinn has worked with him for about a year and a half now; she was not only an amazing assistant, but a great friend- as the way she saw it. He has had feelings for her for about a year now, and they don't seem to die. It's not that he's afraid to tell her, he's just afraid of heartbreak; he wouldn't trade their friendship for anything, and he doesn't want to risk losing her overall.

He knows that's all she sees him as though, a friend, he's noticed she's had her eye on Noah Puckerman, or as he has everyone calls him "Puck", for the last two months now; he's the new entertainment editor for the paper. He likes Puck, even though sometimes he can be a complete asshole, but he can't help but feel jealous of the guy.

He has only ever fallen in love once, he planned a detailed future with her and everything; he loved her and wanted to spend the rest of his life with her, but he ended up getting heartbroken; having to pick up the broken pieces, and putting himself back together; he doesn't plan on getting his heart broken again, so he tends to not get his hopes up, and just lets his feelings for Quinn continue on without making the attempt to do anything about them.

Finn's at the office from 6am-5pm that day, he's pretty proud of himself! Not only did he get the report done, but he was also able to finish a second report as well for the following issue! Finn then packs his stuff up, and puts all his belongings back in there drawers and folders where they belong. Grabbing his car keys, cell phone and wallet, he shuts his office lights off, closes the door, and locks it, heading off to his car.

Driving home, he hears a familiar song come on the radio,

"_High way run  
Into the midnight sun  
Wheels go round and round,  
You're on my mind"_

With a groan, he turns off his radio completely; he couldn't stand listening to that song anymore, it bought back to much unwanted memories.

Finn was now driving over the Hudson River Bridge, mindlessly keeping his eyes on the road, when something coming into view caught his eye: a girl standing on the side of the railing of the bridge; looking down at the water beneath her. Finns sight zoomed on her, and his first instinct was to pull the hell over on the side of the bridge, making sure to clear his car out of the road to keep from causing traffic. He frantically climbed out of his car and ran to the railing to which she was standing.

"Hey! What the hell are you doing!? Get down!" his voice became hoarse and filled with panic.

She flinched, caught off guard, and looked startled to see him, and just looks at him for a second before turning her gaze back to the water below her. "No, please just- I want everything to just go away" Her voice cracked in the middle of her sentence.

"Please, please just get down! Don't do this! Your friends, your family, they'll-they'll miss you, they don't want you to do this! Please, just come down!"

She shook her head, she was crying now, tears pouring from her eyes "No, I need to do this."

"Then-then just please, please talk to me! Why… why are you doing this!?"

She shook her head once again, "You wouldn't understand. Everything's just too much to handle! I don't want to be here anymore! I can't deal with it anymore!"

"If-if you just climb down, ill-ill help you! Please, just don't jump, please don't do this!" Finn was starting to get choked up now. He couldn't see a beautiful girl like her jump off of this bridge, he just couldn't.

She began to cry harder now, looking over at him once more, and looked into his eyes full of plea. She then looked down at the pavement, and began to climb down slowly, Finn moved quickly to get below her, so he could make sure she got down safely. When her feet touched the ground, she crumpled into his arms, crying hysterically, and Finn just held her tight, like he was afraid she would slip through his grasp if he let her go.

He held her like that for what seemed like forever, until she lifted her head to look into his eyes. They both interlocked gazes at each other, both keeping silent. Neither knew what to say, so Finn just walked her over to his car, still holding her, and placed her in the passenger seat, shutting her door, and quickly running to his side of the car.

Once they were both in, they just made small glances at each other. Finn was the first one to speak.

"So, if-if you want to talk, about anything, you know, we could." He knows he sounded really dumb, but he didn't really know what to say, what do you even say in a situation like this? "Like, why you wanted to, you know…" and he trailed off at his statement, he couldn't really say "_commit suicide_" aloud, the thought just scared the shit out of him.

She just stayed silent for a moment. "My life… it's-it's a mess," tears were still flowing from her eyes "my dad's hate me, my-my… _boyfriend_," she spits out quite bitterly "abuses me, and… hurts me, and all I ever receive is rejection." She stays silent for yet another moment. "Some _great_ life I have." She chuckles bitterly.

Finn was at a loss of words. All he did was just look at her eyes full of sadness. He didn't know what was going on in her life, but by looking at how miserable she is, he feels so remorseful towards he, and he thinks he wants to help her.

"I-I'm so, so sorry." He looked straight into her eyes to let her know that he truly was, that he felt such pain for this girl. All she did was nod. "But- things… things will get better for you, you're a beautiful girl, and you must have something to look forward to in life. If you, you know, had jumped, you would never experience things you yet have to!" Finn was trying to be as positive as he could; trying to say something to make her feel a little bit better; anything.

The girl shook her head yet again, "I know you are trying to make things sound better, and I appreciate your effort, but you just- don't understand what I'm going through."

He didn't know why but all Finn wanted to do was help this girl, make her happy, and yet he didn't even know her. "How… how about we go back to my apartment, and you-you make me understand! Talk to me, and- I just want to help you."

She looked into his eyes again. She didn't know what this guy was up to, but he wanted to help her, and she thinks she could use some help right now. "…okay." And she got a small smile from this man as a response.

Finn placed his keys in the ignition and started the car, "…What's your name, may I ask?"

She liked how polite he was, he seemed like a genuine sweet guy and she couldn't help but smile just a tad "Rachel, Rachel Berry."

He looked at her again. He really likes her smile. "Nice to meet you Rachel Berry, I'm Finn Hudson." He gave her a small smile, as well.

And he drove the car back into the lanes, heading back to his apartment.

**AN: I took a long break from fanfiction, I just got complete writers block and didn't even know what to write! So please excuse my absence! But somehow this idea formed in my head, and I got inspired to write it! I know its short, but I plan on making the following chapters longer, please enjoy! Reviews are really appreciated! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Glee, or any of these characters. **

**I do not own "How to Save a Life" by The Fray (the title of this story), nor do I own "Faithfully" by Journey.**

**Thank you!**


	2. Chapter 2

The care ride home was about 15 minutes, but both just stayed silent the whole way. Finn went through the whole scenario again in his head, and he finds it sort of surreal. He feels for this girl, Rachel, and he truly wants to help her. But not only does he want to know what's going on in her life that makes her so miserable, but he just wants to know _her_, what she likes to do, her job, her friends, where she grew up; she seems… different. It's sort of freaking him out how much this girl has impacted him and yet he's only known her for less than an hour.

He pulls into the parking lot, shutting off the car, and climbs out of his side of the car to get her. He gently helps her, being careful with her; she seems so fragile and vulnerable. She mutters a small "thank you" and they make their way through his apartment complex. Finn retrieves his keys, and opens his apartment, motioning for her to go inside.

Rachel looks around the apartment, taking everything in, eyeing all his objects: she finds books stacked in shelves, papers scattered across tables, and a few newspaper here and there, other than that, he has a neat and organized place; she likes it.

"Umm, do-do you want to sit on the couch? Do you want or need anything?" Finn knows he's probably making a fool of himself but like he said, he doesn't really know what to say when something like _this_ happens! She looks back at him shyly, "…water, please?" she says it so quietly he could barely hear her. He nods, and makes his way to the kitchen as she tentatively walks over to his couch, and sits down.

She doesn't really know what to think right now: she woke up this morning hating her life, hating _herself, _and she just couldn't shake the feeling of her wanting to be gone, the feeling became so strong, she just did it; took a cab to the bridge, paid the man (even though he did look at her suspiciously, he didn't know what she was doing on the side of the bridge, but drove off anyway) and she just sort of looked out to the water, taking small steps up the railing, but then _he_ came, Finn. She doesn't know whether to be mad at him for stopping her, or if she should be thankful of him. He seems like a nice, sweet guy, he was willing to listen to her, and help her. He just seemed not like all the rest and the guys in New York.

Her thoughts were interrupted by Finn coming back with a glass of water. She took it from his shyly, and drank small sips, "thank you" she muttered.

It was silent for a moment between the two yet again, and Finn breaks the ice. "So, umm, if you want to talk about anything, I'm here to, you know, listen." Finn sat across from her on the couch, keeping his eyes on her.

Rachel stared down at her lap for a second, and then up at him, "I… don't really know where to begin, really."

"Start off with what you told me: your relationship with her parents, or dads if I heard correctly…?" Finn didn't know if he caught her right on that, he has never met anyone with two dads before.

"Yes, two dads…" she was silent again, but then started to talk "I haven't spoken to them in over 2 years…" she trailed off sadly.

"What happened?" Finn didn't want to push her or anything, but he's been to counseling a few times a while ago.

After _she_ broke up with him, and didn't know what to do with his life; he literally had no direction. But one of his friends suggested counseling, so Finn went for a few sessions, and she really helped. He remembered she asked him a lot of questions about his past, so he was trying the same technique with Rachel, hoping it would help like it helped him.

Rachel took a long breath, and started talking "My dads are the type of parents who plan out your future; tell you where you're going to college, what your job is going to be, who your friends were, who you dated, and everything else in between. Well they directed my life, told me what to do. I hated it, but I just didn't have the courage to tell them I wanted direct my own life, not have them do it for me." She paused long enough for Finn to respond with a nod, so she continued, "They wanted me to be a lawyer, and wanted me to go to Harvard. I hated the idea of being a lawyer, it never interested me, nor did I ever enjoy the idea of it. But, my friend Kurt always pushed me, I considered him my motivation." she smiled a little at the memory of Kurt before going on, "So, about a week before high school graduation, I told my dads everything, how I didn't want to go to Harvard, or be a lawyer, or that I didn't want to date Jesse." She paused for a moment.

"…So what did you tell them you wanted to do?" Finn was intrigued by her story, and the way he talked, she loved it. Her voice was like music to his ears… he didn't know if that sounded creepy so he kept that to himself.

"I told them that I wanted to move to New York City to pursue what I'm passionate about: theater. I've always had a love for Broadway; acting, singing, dancing, I love it all." Her eyes lit up talking about it, until they faltered a little "But my dads, they hated the idea; they were, like… disgraced by it. They thought it was like living in a fantasy world, they thought the idea was ludicrous, and wouldn't allow it. So that night, we got into a huge fight, they eventually kicked me out, and I moved in with Kurt and his dad, Burt, for the week before heading off to New York after graduation." She started to cry. Finn put a hand on her knee, in a comforting way. He didn't want to overwhelm her or anything. "And… I regret it, not the fact that I told them I wanted to direct my own life, but, the fight; I wish it didn't happen, I miss them terribly! I haven't made the attempt to speak them; I'm too ashamed to!" And she cried hard, her body shaking with tears and sniffles. Finn couldn't sit there and watch her cry, so he moved closer to her and wrapped his around her.

"I'm-I'm so sorry, Rachel" Finn wanted to cry. He doesn't know what it's like, the feeling of not speaking to your parent, or having then angry with you. He loves his mom, he doesn't know what he would do without her, and knowing that Rachel doesn't have the support from a parent, makes him terribly sad. "I'm so, so sorry" he repeated again.

Rachel lifted her head from him. "I can't live with the feeling of having them hating me, or regret me in general." She seemed to have calmed down a bit, because he notices she isn't shaking with tears anymore, just a few trickling from her eyes.

Finn looked into her eyes, "You don't know if they hate you Rachel, I mean, maybe they could hate themselves, forever causing you to leave…. They probably miss you to, and regret what they did as well." Rachel nodded, but didn't look convinced. Finn thought maybe moving on to the next subject might be better, but from what he remember he told her, not much better, maybe not at all.

"So, umm, what about your… boyfriend? What's going on with him?" And instantly Rachel brought back that bitter chuckle of hers.

"Brody, is his name." She stared down at the ground at first, but began talking again. "I met him at NYADA, the college I attend, a year and a half ago, my freshman year. I was taking my second year of dance, and he was the teachers dancing assistant. He and I got close, we talked a lot, I talked to him about my family problems; he was just someone there for me, so we got closer. He had the same ambitions and passions as me, we had the same likings, and were attending NYADA for the same reason: to hopefully be on Broadway." Rachel paused for a moment, thinking back to a year and a half ago when they would just walk in the park together, talking. "Eventually, we grew feelings for each other, and we started dating a year ago," she chuckled "what a stupid ass mistake that was." She paused, and looked at Finn to make sure he was still following along; she kind of liked having him listening, it felt like someone was actually there for her. And Finn just nodded again.

"He changed. He met a new group of friends, and they were a bad influence on him, I knew they were. We lived in an apartment together at the time and he would come home late, drunk and we would always fight. I told him he needed to stop hanging out with his friends, they were nothing but trouble, and he said he would, but everything just got worse. He started getting into drugs, and smoking, it was just… scary. One night, he came home around 2am and he just went up to me, and… he" Rachel paused, taking a big breath, but started to cry "he hit me. And… he has ever since. I've tried to leave him, leave the apartment, but he threatens to him me more, and beat me, it's just… I don't know what happened to him. I once loved him for the sweet guy he was! But now…" she cried harder "he's just… not the same!" And once again, she crumples into Finn's chest.

Finn just didn't know what the hell to say, he was at a loss of words. "Rachel…" there was a long pause before he continued "I can't even tell you how… even, I can't even, explain how…sorry I am" Finn just rambled. He couldn't believe it, really. Someone as beautiful as her, as genuine as her, how could someone just abuse her like that, and threaten her? All Finn wanted to do was meet this Brody guy and kill him! "Rachel… I'm so, so, so sorry. I just, I can't believe someone would ever want to do that to you, ever! You don't deserve it, at all. You haven't done anything to deserve this shit that he put you through!" Finn paused again, and held her closer to him. "You need to leave him, Rachel."

Rachel looked up at Finn, but shook her head "I can't Finn, it's more complicated than it sounds. He doesn't take no for an answer. I'm just so scared what it could escalade to, you know?" She sobbed more. Finn hugged her for a while longer, until he looked down at her, he felt like he needed to know more about why she wanted to… end her life, so he could help her to the best of his ability.

"So, umm, what do you mean by rejection, what have you been rejected from?" Finns was choked up still from her last confession, so his voice came out a little hoarse.

Rachel pulled back again, and nodded, before starting up her explanation. "You know how I told you that Broadway is my passion? And it's what I want to do?" Finn nodded lightly. "Well, I got to New York, and I wanted to get my mind off of my dads, the fight was only three weeks ago, and it still left me crushed, so I began auditioning for plays, in hopes of getting into one. I just… never did." And she teared up again. "It left me crushed. I went to audition after audition after audition, just hoping and praying the next day would be better than the last, hoping that I would get into a play, even if it was off-Broadway, anything. But I never did. The last one I went to left me more heartbroken than ever." Rachel was now sobbing again, more tears falling from her eyes. "They told me 'You'll never make it on Broadway. Your voice is flat, and you look horrendous, your nose is far too big, and your way too short to ever be on this stage.' I left me heartbroken for months, so I just stopped auditioning overall, thinking he was right." Finn just didn't know what to think. Everything this girl has went through; has been taken away from her, or hurt her. She has been through hell and back. He let her just cry there, getting her feelings and emotions out.

"I'm just, so, so sorry Rachel, I can't even imagine…" he knows he keeps saying it over and over, but he truly is, and he doesn't really know what to say other than 'sorry' because he feels such remorse towards her. He paused. "But they are more wrong than they'll ever be about anything. You're _gorgeous_ Rachel, stunning. Don't let them get to you; if it's what you love to do you just can't give up on it!"

Rachel looks up at Finn. "…thank you, that means… a lot. But, they mean what they say, Finn. They're obviously right if I haven't been casted on Broadway yet. It's better off giving up than to fool myself into believing dreams come true." And she pauses again.

"My life is just one big mistake Finn. I haven't been happy in such a long time, I'm beginning to think I never will." And she continued to cry.

Finn just looks at her, with a lump in his throat, and tears threatening to spill over. It breaks him inside, that all he's seen her do all day is cry, and cracked a small smile just once. If only he could see her smile more often, it's beautiful; she's beautiful. "You're not a mistake Rachel, you've just been through too much, and you don't deserve any of it." She nods and tries to give him a weak smile.

Finn glances at the clock for a second;" its 1am!? Where the hell did the time go?" he thought. He looked over at Rachel who was staring at him from beneath her lashes; she looked really tired.

Finn contemplated for a second, but then he thought it would be the best for her, she needs it. "It's really late, and you look sort of tired…" ...Wow, that sounded really lame, but she nodded nevertheless. "Do-do you want to spend the night, just on the couch?" He couldn't help but ask, obviously it was late and she was tired, but the thought of Brody was in the back of his mind, 'she isn't safe with him'. Rachel looked at Finn, almost with a confused expression, but she gave him a small, thankful smile, and nodded.

"O-okay, I'll umm, I'll just go get you a blanket and pillow, just, umm, stay here." As he went down the hall to retrieve the items, he couldn't help but wonder if this was crazy of him, letting a girl he met not even a day ago, sleep at his apartment? If it was anyone else, he would have probably had them go home, but he wanted her safe, and she needed someone right now."

He walked back into the living room with a pillow, a blanket, and a rather large shirt; she took all three items and eyed the shirt for a second. Finn stumbled with his response quickly, "Oh, yeah- umm, you know, in case you want something to sleep in, I don't mind, it- I don't know- in case you weren't comfortable in your clothes…" And she stood up with the shirt in hand, "Thank you" and gave him a small smile before heading down the hall, on the look for the bathroom. "Uhh, second door on left!" Finn said from behind her, she walked in and closed the door behind her.

As she changed into the shirt, she thought to herself "This isn't weird of me to do this, is it? Sleep in a stranger's house? Telling him about the darkest times of my life? …But, I think I trust him." And with that, she came out of the bathroom with only his shirt on; it fit her like a night gown, it ended just above the knees. She came back over with her clothes in her hands, and set them on the coffee table, across from the couch, to find that he made the couch for her. It was such a sweet gesture; she couldn't help but smile a little again. Rachel climbed under the covers and lay on her side, already drifting off in her sleep.

Finn came out of his room, dressed in his pajamas to find Rachel already fast asleep on the couch. He took quiet steps, trying his best not to wake her, and just stared down at her. She really was beautiful: she has wavy, soft brown hair, big brown eyes, and olive skin. She did have a nose that was a tad larger than the normal size, but that's what made her especially beautiful to him; she was unique.

He then did a reflection back on his day. The day started off as just a normal Wednesday in New York City, it was the same routine everyday: he woke up, got ready, and then went to work. But he didn't expect for _this_ to happen; he didn't expect to save someone's life. Now here she is; sleeping on his couch, in the wee hours of the morning.

**AN: I only expected to do one chapter today, but I had time for a second, so I decided to do another one **** I might be putting up another chapter tomorrow, depending on how much time I have, but anyways, hopefully you enjoy it! **** And thank you for the nice reviews that were already left! They made my day!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Glee, nor the characters.**

**I do not own "How to Save a Life" by The Fray (title of story)**

**Thank you!**


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: There was a little confusion in the last chapter, and I am sorry about that! But Rachel is just ending her Sophmore year of college, and she met Brody at the beginning of Freshman year, started talking to him in the middle of Freshman year, and they started dating at the beginning of her Sophmore year. And I slipped up, in a sentence: which I meant to say was that Rachel was taking her first year of dance in Freshman year, not her second. I hope you understand for my mistakes! Thank you!**

Finn was awoken at around 3am by a figure near the side of his bed, looming over him. He was still groggy, but was able to speak, knowing who it was, "Rachel?"

She was silent for a moment, "I-I couldn't sleep… I had a nightmare." Her voice came out a little cracked, like she had been crying.

Finn gathered his thoughts, still not really fully awake "Are you okay?"

It was dark, but he saw her make a small shrug, "…I just- I'm scared, Finn."

He could tell by the sound of her voice and the way she shifted, with her arms hugging her body. He didn't want her to be scarred going back to bed, so he offered what he thought might help: "If-if you want, you can sleep with me- I mean, it's this bed is big enough for the both of us, if, you know, you're comfortable with that…"

Rachel nodded and walked to the other side of the bed, getting in slowly under the covers, and laying on her side. She was thankful Finn offered for her to sleep in his bed with him, that's kind of what she was hoping for to happen, but she wouldn't tell him that, "Thank you, Finn."

"Are you sure you're okay?" Finn was just worried about her, and he knows she has reasons to be scared; he has a few ideas as to why she might be…

"I am now, thank you" and then they both went back to sleep, both feeling a little bit more comfortable than they did going to bed earlier that night.

_That morning_

Finn woke up to a feeling of something wrapped around him, he looked down, and was pleasantly surprised with what he saw: he had Rachel wrapped up in his arms, and she has her arms around him. "It obviously happened when we were both asleep last night" Finn thought. He couldn't help but stay in that position for a while longer, just enjoying the feeling of it, he felt… comfortable.

Rachel began to stir in his grasp, and Finn loosened his hold on her, thinking she'll pull away once she noticed it to, but she didn't. She looked up into Finn's eyes and smiled a little. "Sorry, I- uh, didn't mean to, you know, hold you" she chuckles a little. And she loosens her grip on him, and brings her arms back to her side, and Finn misses the contact immediately, but he does the same.

He rolls out of bed first, and she follows his lead, doing the same, so he can make the bed. "I'm going to make something for breakfast, umm, do you pancakes?"

Rachel can't help but giggle a little, but Finn instantly beams at the sound of it, it's nice to hear her laugh a little, "Yes, I'd enjoy that."

They both head into the kitchen, and Finn starts pulling out the pancake mix, pans, and gets to cooking. He also brews up some coffee. While he is making the pancakes, he can't help but notice that Rachel is staring at him while doing so, out from his peripheral vision. His mind then wanders back to last night, and he replays it in his head, what's going to happen now? He needs to talk it out with her, he just hopes he doesn't cause her to become sad or anything, he thinks, or hopes she's enjoying herself a little, being here.

While Finn was thinking about this situation, Rachel by happen to be thinking about it too. Was she going to go back with Brody? Were Finn and her going to stay in contact, or act like nothing happened? She really didn't know, but she was afraid to talk about that at the moment; hoping to enjoy herself while it lasted, knowing it would soon come to an end. She likes Finn; she likes spending time with him. It takes her mind off of things, and she thinks this is the most she's smiled in months.

Finn eventually finished making the pancakes, stacking them up high on two plates, and pouring two cups of coffee for them both. They both sat down at the small table for two, and began to eat. "These are really good, Finn!" and they were, she doesn't think she's had better pancakes in her life.

Finn chuckled a little, "Thanks" and gave her a small grin.

After a breakfast filled with silence, Finn got ready to take his shower, "Umm, if you want you can shower in the hall bathroom." She nodded. She grabbed her clothes from the coffee table from yesterday, walked into the hall bathroom with them in hand, and she showered, him doing the same. It didn't hit Finn until he was in the middle of his shower that he had work, and it was already 10am, he was five hours late. He started freaking out, so he hurried with his shower and quickly called Quinn.

"Finn, where the hell are you?! Why aren't you at the office?" She seemed pissed 'Crap' he thought.

"I'm- uh sick. I forgot to call in and tell you, sorry!" Finn knew he was a bad liar, he was never able to convince anyone anything, but he just hoped this worked.

He heard her hesitate for a moment "Okay, Finn, whatever. I'll just tell Will you won't be able to make it in today. Hope you feel better."

"Uh- actually tell him I might be out for two days… I-uh have the flu, I want to make sure I'm clear of germs before coming to the office, wouldn't want to risk getting anyone sick!" God, he was so bad at this…

He swears, he knows Quinn doesn't believe him, but she seems to go with it anyway, "Okay, Finn, two days, but you better not be sick after that, you have a column to run mister." And with that she hung up the phone.

He sighed in relief; glad Quinn decided not to question him about it to much. He needed a couple days with Rachel, he didn't know what was going to happen between them, but they needed a while in order to figure things out, he guessed.

Finn heard a knock on his door, knowing it was Rachel, he told her she could come in. She came in with his shirt neatly folded in her hands, "Thank you, for letting me borrow it last night. It was sweet of you." Finn gave her a nod, and retrieved the shirt from her, putting it away back in his drawer.

"Now what?" Finn thought, "where do we go from here?"

He needed to bring it up eventually, what they were going to do, so he just did: "So, umm Rachel, what- I think we sort of need to talk about, you know…"

Rachel nodded, and took a seat on his bed, as he did so too, "I know…"

Finn actually thought about it in the shower but he was thinking he didn't want her going back with Brody; she wasn't safe with him in the least bit, not if he was going to abuse her. To be honest, he sort of felt responsible of her, to keep her safe. So he just sort of came out with it: "Rachel, like I said yesterday, I want to help you. And… and I think I should start off by making sure you're safe…"

Rachel didn't really know where he was going with this, but she nodded nevertheless, showing him that he can go on.

"I thought about it all morning, and I think it's for the best, and… you know, you have a total say in this too, but I was thinking, like you could stay with me..." before Finn thought she would get the idea, he interjected quickly "Like, we could just live together! As you know, like friends…"

Rachel, for the first time in a long time, beamed with a blinding white smile. "Are- are you serious, Finn? Are you sure? You want me to live here, with you?"

Finn gave her an assuring nod, "Yeah, if you want to…" All Rachel could do was nod, and she reached over and hugged him. She was so happy; she couldn't believe he asked her to live with him. She could… _finally _get away from Brody, after a year of abuse; she thinks she can actually leave him and never look his way again, in reaction to this, she hugged Finn tighter. "Thank you, thank you so much, Finn. I don't think I can ever thank you enough."

Finn just hugged her back, and his chest filled with pride and happiness. He saw a genuine smile grace her face, she just looked really _happy_; he knew this was a good choice, getting her away from Brody.

Finn pulled her away for a second, and hope this didn't upset her a little, but he had to ask eventually, "But, umm, I think we… need to, you know, get your stuff, from your place, so you are able to actually live here."

Rachel was beyond thankful and happy that she could live here, but the idea of even looking back at her apartment scared her; she didn't want to go back, not with _him_ there. Finn notice her smile falter a bit, "We will be in and out of there quick… does- does he work? Are there hours in the day when he's gone?"

Rachel nodded, "From 6pm-11pm, he is gone, he bartends at this bar down the street."

"We can go later today to get your stuff, when he isn't home, does it sound like a plan?" Finn gave her a smile in assurance that it would be okay, that they wouldn't catch Brody there, and Rachel nodded, giving a small smile in return.

_8 hours later_

Finn and Rachel stayed inside all day, watching TV together, mainly; both were just sort of quiet the whole day. Rachel looked at the clock, it was 5:50pm, "Finn," she called out "Brody should be leaving the apartment about now."

Finn nodded towards her, so he grabbed his coat, and car keys, before he ushered her out the door, and they got in his car. Rachel gave the directions to Finn, as they drove. About ten minutes later, they pulled up in front of an apartment complex. It was a little more run-down than his own, he noticed. Rachel lead the way to her apartment, taking an elevator up to the third floor, and walking down the hallway until they reached it. She pulled her key out of her pocket, and opened up the door, taking everything in. A strong aroma of alcohol filled Finns lungs, causing him to cough a little, "Sorry," Rachel muttered "…it always smells like this."

She hurried to her room, pulling Finn along with her, afraid to be by herself. She grabbed a suitcase from underneath the bed, went to her drawers, and started piling her clothes up in the suitcase, not caring if they were neatly organized or not. She needed a second suitcase for toiletries, and other items, and she rushed Finn out of the apartment, with both suitcases at her side. She hated this apartment almost as much as she hated Brody, and she desperately wanted to just get out of there. Finn picked up one suitcase, and she dragged along the other to the car. Once they were safe inside the car, she couldn't help but sigh of relief. Realization finally hit her, she wasn't living with Brody anymore, she wouldn't have to deal with his abuse; she actually felt _free_, and _safe_ for once in her life, and she couldn't help but smile, and squeal a little. "Thank you, thank you, thank you so, so much Finn!" and she leaned over the glove compartment, giving him a kiss on the cheek. Finn tried so hard to keep from blushing, but he knew it was useless to keep it from showing, he knew she saw, because he heard her giggle. Finn felt his cheek tingle, and touched it lightly with his fingertips, smiling at her.

They started driving back to Finn's apartment in silence, both content with themselves for the time being. After a ten minute drive, they reached their destination, both getting out of the car with a suitcase in one hand, and walked back up to his place.

Once they got inside, Finn brought her to a room at the end of the hall that she wasn't familiar with. He opened the door and she looked inside: it had a bed, one drawer, a mirror, and a small white desk. "It's nothing special; it was just an extra room that came with the place. I never needed it for anything, so I made it a guest room, for one people visit." Rachel smiled at Finn, before walking inside the room, placing her suitcase next to the dresser, and Finn bought the second one right next to it.

"Umm, I think I'm going to go make dinner. Is spaghetti okay with you?" Rachel nodded and looked around the room once more, before following Finn down the hall back to the kitchen.

Finn made dinner, and Rachel watched him silently. Soon, he finished preparing, and bought two plates to the small table oh his that they had eaten breakfast at earlier.

As they began to eat, Rachel realized something, "You know… you haven't told me much about yourself." Finn then looked up at her with a mouthful of food. After quickly swallowing, he gave her a smirk, "Well, there really is nothing to know about me."

"Oh come on, you seem like an interesting person… just, I don't know, tell me about yourself!" Rachel's eyes were lit up a little, looking excited to hear what he has to say.

"Well…" Finn paused to swallow his food "I'm 20 years old, graduated from college after two years, uh, I grew up with a single mother, in a small town called Lima, Ohio…"

"What made you move to New York City?"

"I moved for the same reasons you did: I wanted to pursue what I was passionate about, and I thought what better place to do that, no other than, the 'City of Dreams'?" Rachel nodded, and took a bite of her dinner before going on, "And what is it that you are passionate about?"

"Writing, actually"

"Hmm," Rachel observed around the room "never would have guess" and a giggle bubbled out of her.

"I work as the sports editor for 'New York Times', actually" Finn didn't know if he sounded modest, but hey, he was proud of himself.

"Wow! That's actually really amazing, Finn!" and she gave him a small smile. "What else?" Rachel thought for a moment, thinking of some other interesting stories she could get out of him, "How was high school for you?"

"I don't know, my high school experience just seemed like everybody else's, nothing special really."

"Hmm… any relationships?" Rachel didn't know if it was a boundary or not, but it was worth asking. She was a curious person, after all.

Finn was silent for a while, "…Just one."

"How was it?"

Finn felt kind of uncomfortable talking about it. "Just like every high school relationship: it ended eventually." And he left it at that. They both finished their food, and they bought their plates to the sink. Rachel then heard her phone going off in her room, so she went to retrieve it. When she looked at the caller ID, she wanted to scream: it was Brody.

She can't answer it, she won't! She's far too afraid of what he's got to say, worst of what he would tell her. She decides against, and waits for it to go to voicemail, but he keeps calling, four more times at the least, before he stops. After it stops ringing for the thousandth time, she retrieves it again, not before it beeps with a new incoming text from Brody: "_DAMNIT RACHEL, PICK UP YOUR DAMN PHONE!_" with another one following it "_Where the hell are you!?_" and yet another "_Why the hell is your stuff gone?!_" and again, "_I swear to god Rachel if you left me..._" and one last one "_Damnit Rachel!_" and it finally stopped going off, for what seemed like forever.

Rachel walked back into the kitchen with a frightened look on her face, and Finn instantly became worried, "Rachel, what is it?!" and she pulls out her phone, "Its Brody," her voice cracks "he knows I left- and I just- Finn, I'm scared." And tears start to silently roll down her face. Finn pulled her in for a hug, "Rachel it'll be okay, you're with you, you're safe now, he won't find you, I promise, it's going to be okay." Finn thinks he helped a little because he felt her tense less, and pull away from him, "Thank you so much, Finn."

It was around 10pm when they both became a little tired, and decided to turn off the TV, heading into their rooms to get ready for bed. Rachel and Finn both put on their pajamas, brush their teeth, and get ready for bed, but before Finn falls asleep, Rachel walks into his bedroom tentatively. "Is everything okay, Rachel?" Finn became worried again.

"Yes, everything is fine, for now, but… do you think, maybe, I could…" she trailed off, eyes falling upon the bed, and Finn knew what she was getting at, she he asked her, knowing she was too shy to ask. "Do you want to… stay with me tonight?" and Rachel looked up at him, nodding eagerly, before getting on the other side of the bed of him.

He thinks to himself for a moment: he doesn't know where they stand right now, but he thinks he might… like Rachel. He's starting to form feelings for her and that sort of scares him because he remembers how it went last time with his last relationship…

He can't tell her that though, she's just moved in, and he doesn't want to make her uncomfortable, so he'll just side with this for the moment, having himself sleep next to her; he enjoyed it.

**AN: Again, THANK YOU ALL FOR THE REVIEWS, FAVORITES, FOLLOWS, ECT! I literally read the reviews over and over again, they made me so happy! It means a lot you all like this story **

**But yet again, I hope you enjoy this chapter! I realized nothing really big happened, no "hook", but I want to take this story slow and do my best with it! And yes, I promise I will be getting to the "romantic" parts, when they start putting forth their feelings for each other, soon!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Glee, nor do I own any of these characters.**

**I do not own the "How to Save a Life" by The Fray (title of story)**

**Thank you!**


	4. Chapter 4

Finn opened the door to his apartment, with groceries in one hand, to find Rachel sitting on the couch, looking at the door with expectant eyes, like she has had her eyes on the door since he's been gone, waiting for him to get home.

"Oh, hey Rachel," Finn said while turning back to close and lock the door. Finn turned back around again to see Rachel walking up to him slowly and he stopped dead in his tracks. 'What is she doing…?' he thought, but next thing he knows, she puts her arms gently around his neck gently, stands on her tippy-toes and places a soft kiss on his lips, keeping her place. Finn is still for a moment, but not long before wrapping his arms around her waist, and reciprocating the kiss.

Suddenly, Finn wakes up. He looks down again to see the same exact thing that happened last night, both him and Rachel, wrapped up in each other's grasp. He's beginning to think it's just an instinct of his to do this…

He thinks back to his dream, and he doesn't know what to think at the moment. It was with him… and Rachel… and, they… kissed. He smiles at the thought, but instantly flinches; he can't be dreaming about that, let alone thinking about it! He and Rachel are just friends, and it needs to stay that way for a while; they've only known each other for two days! But that kiss… it was almost like he could literally feel it, and it felt… electric, if even made it sense; he felt a spark.

His thoughts were interrupted when he felt Rachel stir beneath him, her eyes fluttering open. She looks up at him, and notices it as well; that they are holding each other, and again, she pulls away. "Sorry…" and he chuckles softly, "Its fine…" and he pulls away as well.

They're both silent for a while, "I'm uh… going to make something for us… I was just thinking bagels… is that okay?" and she nods with a small smile.

He gets up and walks down the hallway into the kitchen, but she stays back for a bit, just sitting in bed; "I like sleeping with him, I feel safe, and secure, and I even like… holding him, but I feel the need to pull away," she thinks "I think I'm starting to like Finn… he's sweet, nice, caring, and is willing to help me, he's everything I could ask for from a guy, but maybe that's all he wants to do: be my friend and help me. I can't help but think he only sees me as a friend, but I can't really blame him, who would like screw up, nobody like me?"

She decides to get out of bed then, and makes her way down the hall to the kitchen to meet Finn for breakfast, which was already done. He hands over a plate with a toasted bagel and cream cheese to her, and they make their way to the familiar table.

"So, how did you sleep last night…?" Finn wanted to make the attempt to talk to her more often, he realizes they don't talk enough, and he wants to change that.

"A lot better, thank you," she pauses for a moment before continuing, "I can sleep with less worry now." And Finn nods, understanding. They finish up there bagels rather quickly, and head back to their rooms, to take their showers.

As Finn scrubbed shampoo through his hair, he thought for a moment; he sort of made a promise to himself when he met Rachel two days ago: that he would help her, and that he would make her happy again, it was all he thought about doing when he met her, he remembers. But even though she was able to leave Brody, he doesn't know if it was enough to actually make her genuinely happy. He thinks back to the night when she told him about everything, her dads, Brody, her Broadway dreams being taken away and everything else in between. Well, he thinks he helped with one of those problems, so now was on to task two: get her to reconnect with her dads. She misses them, and he knows she wants to talk to them again, but how will he get her too? He figures he'll just have to try his best to convince her, everything can just get better for her from here.

Finn finished up his shower, quickly dried off, and waits for Rachel to finish her shower on the couch, while watching TV.

After about 10 minutes of waiting, he hears the bathroom down the hall open, and her feet padding down the hallway into the living room.

"Hey," he looks up at her, "I thought I heard you in here." She gives him a small smile.

"Oh, yeah, just uh, watching TV." And she gives him a nod. "Um, I wanted to talk to you actually," and then he realizes he didn't think out how he was going to bring this up… She gives him a nod to continue, "about your dads actually…" and he noticed her shift uncomfortably.

"Well, what about them?" she says so quietly he barely hears her.

"Umm… well, you miss them, don't you?"

There was such a long pause, Finn didn't think she had heard him at first, "…More than anything." He noticed her voice crack a tad.

"Well, uhh…", 'Just spit it out, asshole!' he thought to himself, "I was thinking… that maybe… you should, you know… try talking to them." And Rachel stiffened at the thought of doing so.

She shook her head violently, "Finn, no! I can't! They hate me, have you not remembered what I told you?! They want nothing to do with me! They never will! If they wanted to, they would have already made the attempt to!" She was about to cry at any moment, he could tell.

Finn didn't really want to "talk back" to her, but he needed to get through to her, "And do you not remember what I said, Rachel? That maybe they could be the ones regretting their decision, that they miss you, that they are too scared to call you!" he needed to be a tad forceful on her, it was the only way she would listen.

She just shook her head again. "Finn, no, I'm not talking about this. Not now, not when I've been the happiest." She started taking small steps backwards down the hall towards her room, but then she was interrupted by Finn, "Rachel, you need to stop running away from your problems!" he paused slightly. He rose his hand to the back of his neck, rubbing it frustratingly. He really shouldn't be too aggravated with Rachel, I mean, it was her decision whether or not she wanted to call her dads again; but something just… pulled at him. He wanted to get through to her, he wanted her to call her dads, he wanted her to reconnect with them, he just wanted this for her, and he was going to make it happen. "What could go so wrong?"

She was silent for a while, "Finn… rejection. What if they reject me again?" She looked at him like she seemed lost, "I don't think I could go through that again…" Tears slowly made their way down her face.

"Listen, Rach… just think, _really_ think for a moment, do you want to live your life, thinking about all the things that_ could_ have happen? Never wondering what it would be like if you ever did call your dads? Isn't it a risk worth taking? ... I mean, what if they did want to reconnect with you? Think about how happy you would be, having them in your life again?" He gave her a small smile, to try to warm up to her a little more.

She seemed hesitant for a moment, like she was thinking about it, "I-I don't know… let me just think about it, Finn, just for a little while?" At least she was willing to do so, he couldn't help but be a little grateful she would do that, and he would give her some time to do so. He nodded "Yeah," and at that, she walked off to her room slowly, with her arms wrapped around her body.

About an hour later, Finn heard her bedroom door creak open, and padding down the hall. "Finn?" she asked softly.

And he looked up at her expectantly, waiting for what she had to say. "I-I think you're right, that I should… call them." she walked over to the couch where he had been sitting for the last hour watching TV, "I mean, what if it's true? …what you said; about them wanting to talk to me, them missing me… I don't know, I guess it just is a risk worth taking." Finn couldn't help but smile and wrap his arms around her, to pull her close and give her a hug. He was grateful that she wanted to call them, thats all he asked for. Now he just _hoped _what he said _had_ been true, that they would want to reconnect with her.

Rachel just smiled at Finn, and pulled her phone out of her pocket, getting ready to hit the digits, before he saw panic strike her features, "What if they changed their number?! It's been 2 years, they must have by now!"

"Rachel, calm down, it's fine. Just- umm, try their home phone, they can't really change the number of a home phone unless, you know, they got a new phone…" She nodded at him, somewhat understanding, but she quickly looked over at him, "Will you please stay with me, while I talk to them?" He nodded at Rachel to encourage her, so she picked up the phone again, and started pressing the digits. He noticed the way her hands shook as she did so, but he also noticed how easy it looked for her to call the number, like she had tried calling them many times but failed to out of fear in the end. She shakily put the phone up to her ear as the home phone rang, waiting for someone to answer.

"Hello?" She heard a male's voice on the other line. And she went dead silent, didn't say a thing. Finn had to shake her a little to make sure she was still breathing…  
He nodded and smiled at her, encouraging her to speak.

"Uh- is-is this Hiram or- Leroy Berry speaking…?" She looked terrified; as if she was afraid it was a completely different man.

"Yes, this is Leroy Berry speaking; may I ask who _this_ is?" Again, she looked like she was ready to faint, Finn had to steady her in case, you know… she did.

"Umm, it's- it's Rachel… daddy, you're daughter…"

And the line was silent for a while, before a soft voice came through the other end, "Rachel… honey, is it-is it really you?"

She laughed silently a little to calm herself down, "Yeah, it is,"

"Oh my, Rachel, we've- your father and I, we've… missed you, so much. I can't believe this is you." She heard her daddy call her dad, Hiram in the room, telling him Rachel was on the phone, and tears instantly sprang to Rachel's eyes, she couldn't believe what she was hearing, they missed her? "Rachel, sweetie? Oh, we have missed you so much!" she heard her dad say.

"Oh dads… I've missed you both too." She paused before continuing, "I'm-I'm so, _so_ sorry for what happened, I should have called and said I was sorry," but Leroy cut her off before she could continue,

"No, Rachel, please don't be!" he paused himself for a while too, "We are the sorry ones, we should have never, _ever_ kicked you out of the house, we regretted it, and still do! We didn't realize what we had just lost before it was gone. And we're sorry for ever keeping you for your dreams, we should have been the supportive parents you needed, it wasn't our decision what you wanted to do with your life, and we didn't realize that until after you left. We're-we're just _so_ sorry Rachel!" She could hear them crying on the other end, and looked over at Finn, with tears falling from her eyes as well, and he smiled over at her.

She paused gathering her thoughts for a moment before she said anything, "I-I hated how you kept me from doing what I wanted to do for such a long time, and how you never gave me freedom, but once I finally got it, it wasn't as _great_ as I thought it would be, and I missed you both so much, I just wanted you there with me."

"Well," she heard him sniff and clear his throat, "starting from now, we are with you Rachel, and we-we don't plan on leaving your side again." She couldn't help but smile that blinding white smile of hers. "Thank you, so, _so_ much dads- I don't ever want to leave you again either."

She heard her daddy composing himself on the other end, "Well, how- how are you sweetie? How is everything?" Rachel didn't really know what to say, so much has happened within the last two years. So she decided it all might have to wait for another conversation, soon. "It's… a lot to explain. But, I promise, I'll tell you all soon." She thought for a moment, "How about I call you both later tonight? We can talk over everything then…?"

"That sounds great!"

"Okay… so I'll call you later… "

"And we will be waiting! Wait, sweetie, do you think we could have your number, so we can call as well?" and she gladly gave it to them.

"We-we love you, sweetie. Stay safe, we'll talk to you later."

She smiled so wide, it started to hurt her cheeks a bit, but that didn't stop her from doing it at the least, "I-I love you to, dads. Goodbye." And they hung up, and Rachel instantly looked at Finn, with the biggest, most blinding smile he has ever seen from her, ever.

"Finn!" she squealed and jumped on top of him, to where she pushed him on his back, while she was on top of him, hugging him as tight as she could. "Thank you, so, so, so, _so_ much! I can't even begin to tell you how thankful I am for this, for _you_!" And he just reciprocated the hug, tightly, and smiled up at her, "I'm so proud of you Rachel! And you should be proud of yourself to; you really were able to call them!"

"Yes, but not without you, Finn!" and she placed a kiss on his cheek, which he couldn't help but turn beet red. He could swear he felt a spark between them… but he had to put those feelings down. "Not now," he thought.

Finn noticed his stomach rumbling a little, and an idea popped into his head, "Hey, for like, a celebration, maybe we should go to lunch!" And she couldn't help but giggle a little, shaking her head, "Well, you seem quite hungry, so why not?"

She leaped up off of him, walking over to retrieve both her and his coat from the coat rack; she through his over to him to where he was on the couch. They both put their coats on, Finn grabbed his wallet, and they were out the door.

Finn and Rachel stayed close by each other walking down the streets of NYC, making sure not to lose one another in the sea of people. "Where are we going?!" Rachel tried to yell over the car horns, and loud people on their phones.

"Just this little Italian restaurant I found a while back ago, it's not that far down!" As if on instinct, Finn gently grabbed Rachel's hand to help guide her. He didn't really realize until after he did it, and he was about to pull back when he noticed she didn't, so he decided to keep it there, in her hand; he liked it.

They finally arrived at the restaurant after two more blocks of walking, and they were guided to a two seated table in the corner of the restaurant, Finn liking the privacy. Finn pulled Rachel's chair out for her, earning a smile and a "thank you" from her as he made his way to his seat, and then the waiter handed them there menus telling them he'd be back in a minute.

Finn watched Rachel eyes scroll through the menu, "See anything you like?"

"Mmhmm," Rachel nodded her head, "It all looks so good!" Which earned a small smile from Finn, "It's funny, for the 2 years I've lived in New York, I have been to many restaurants, but never here!"

"How interesting!" Finn mocked in fake excitement, but broke out in a smile and laugh, and Rachel did the same, but also earned a "Hey!" from her as well.

"Well, I hope you enjoy it! It's one of my favorites!" And they both went back to their menus, looking for something to order.

Soon, the waiter came back, and they ordered their food, but as the waiter left, Rachel noticed something- someone, sitting a few tables down from them. When she finally made out the face, from the side view she could see, she finally noticed who he was. She didn't know what to say, so she let her actions take over. She stood up, and started walking slowly over to the table, earning a "Rachel, where are you going?" from Finn, but she ignored him at the moment, keeping her eyes focused on the person she was making her way to. She finally reached the table, and tapped on his shoulder, causing him to turn around, and have his face fall into shock. And it fell out of her mouth then, "Kurt?"

Kurt was still in shock, trying to say something, but all he did was stumble on his words, but he then said, "R-Rachel?" And he suddenly stood up, and hugged her, and she reciprocated the hug. They just clung to each other, both with tears threatening to fall over.

They both pulled away after a bit and Kurt was the first one to speak, "How-when-why- …Where have you been? Where did you go? Oh, Rachel," and just grabbed her in for another hug.

Rachel wanted to keep this smooth, "Do-do you want to join me and… my friend for dinner, over there?" And Kurt seemed a little confused; she hadn't answered his questions, but nodded nevertheless.

"Umm, mind if I bring my, umm, boyfriend, Blaine?" Rachel then looked over at the man who was sitting opposite of Kurt, and noticed him then, and she smiled and nodded.

Both, Kurt and Blaine followed Rachel back to her table, and she greeted Finn to Kurt and Blaine, and visa-versa. "Finn, do-do you remember about my old friend I told you about… Kurt?" Finn looked confused at first, but his face brightened up, "Oh yeah! …Umm, hi Kurt! It's… nice to meet you!" Kurt looked confused as well, wondering who he was, "You must be Finn, I guess… it's nice to meet you too! This is my boyfriend, Blaine." and introduced Blaine. They brought two chairs over to the table, and they sat opposite of Finn and Rachel, an awkward silence fell over them. "So, Rachel…" Kurt began, "umm, I'm still really confused… by a lot of this, so…" and Rachel remembered the questions Kurt had asked.

"Well, umm, I'm still attending NYADA, it's my sophomore year now, going into my junior…"

Kurt nodded, "I remember you getting into NYADA, and I know you're still attending but… where did you go? I haven't spoken to you since you… left for New York." Rachel grew guilty at Kurt's statement. She knows she should have kept in touch with him, but everything was just all going downhill, and she just wanted to forget about everything and everyone, and she regrets not calling Kurt.

"It's just, a lot to explain… a lot has happen since I've left Kurt…" Kurt just continued to stare at her, waiting for more information to come out, "…we can talk about it later."

Kurt was ready to decline, he wanted to talk about it now, he was confused as hell, and hadn't spoken to her in two years, and she wants to "talk later?" He kept calling her over and over, waiting for that one day where she would pick up, but she never did. He gave up overall, and figured she moved on from him, meeting better, more talented people like her at NYADA. Just as he opened his mouth, ready to protest, she piped up a "please?!" and he released a heavy sigh, glaring at her. "Fine, later. But you have to tell me everything. I haven't spoken to my best friend in two years, and now she wants to wait even longer to talk…" Rachel just stared at him, face full of guilt, so they just dropped the subject overall.

Finn and Blaine just starred at the two, wondering what was going on. Rachel never brought up Kurt, except for the fact that he helped her through the fight with her dads, and she stayed with him for a week, but that was it. Finn looked over at Rachel with concern, but she just looked at him with a smile, as if nothing happened.

Finn and Rachel's food arrived, and Kurt asked the waiter if they could re-direct Blaine and his order to the table they were at, and the waiter nodded, and walked off. Finn hated awkward silences, so he just went for something to make it stop.

"So, uh, Kurt, how do you and Rachel know each other?"

Kurt looked up at Finn with a bit of confusion written on his face, but it disappeared as he began to talk, "Well, we were both in high school, and we were in Glee Club together. One day we started talking and we found out we liked the same things, so we just became close from there!" Kurt's face dimmed a little "well… were," he said the last part so quietly, he barely heard it.

The waiter brought over Kurt and Blaine's dinner to the table, and they all began to eat. "So, uh, Kurt, how did you and Blaine meet?" Rachel piped up, trying to forget about that fact that he didn't seem the fondest of her at the moment. Kurt looked at Rachel for a moment, before speaking, "He transferred to our school when I was a senior, the year you started college, and he joined Glee Club as well. We became close and soon enough, we started a relationship." Kurt looked over lovingly at Blaine, and grabbed his hand, "It's been 2 years now!" Blaine piped up happily. Rachel looked over at Kurt, genuinely happy for him that he has found someone to love. Rachel can't help but hope that one day that will happen to her… there is this specific guy she can't get off her mind… but she makes her mind wander back to reality, snapping out of it.

Kurt looked over at Finn and Rachel, wondering what was going on between the two, "So how about you and uh- tall guy over there, Finn?" Rachel looked over and smiled at Finn, "We're just- uh, friends," Rachel paused for a moment, "He's helped me with… a lot of stuff." And she smiles again.

The four finish dinner, making small chit-chat here and there, and they eventually all finished their dinner, Finn paid the bill, saying "it was no problem" and "not to worry about it" which received genuine a "thank you" from both. They exited the restaurant together, in silence.

Rachel turned to Kurt and hugged him, and he did the same. She gave Kurt her phone number, and he gave her his, "Can we meet up tomorrow for lunch? And I can tell you 'everything'" Rachel smiled over at Kurt, and he smiled, hugging her again, whispering "I've missed you." Into her ear, and she just hugged him tighter, saying the same thing. Finn said "Goodbye" to Kurt and Blaine, and they did the same to him, and the two couples headed separate ways, waving at the parted.

"They seem nice," Finn said, while grabbing Rachel's hand again to keep her close through the crowd, which she still didn't seem to mind.

"They really are," she smiled up at Finn, "It's my first time meeting Blaine, but seems sweet, and Kurt looks like he really cares for him." And Finn nodded, agreeing.

It kind of came out of nowhere, but he asked anyway, "You didn't really mention the thing about, you know, Kurt… and how you kind of, lost contact with him…" Finn wandered off with his statement, not really knowing how to end it.

Rachel went silent for a moment, "I guess it was just something I blocked out of mind, I missed Kurt, and it hurt to just… lose him like that."

"Why didn't you call him?"

"It was the state of mind I was in; I just left for college, wanting to make a new start, wanting to forget the bad things that happened at home, so I just… left Kurt behind to," she became quiet and distant, like she was about to cry, "And, I regret it so much. I missed him every day, not having to talk to him, just leaving him without telling him anything, it broke me inside." Finn held her hand tighter; assuring her it's going to be okay. She looked up at Finn, and smiled a little "Thank you, Finn, for bringing me here tonight." She chuckled lightly, "If we hadn't, I… wouldn't have seen Kurt again." And her small, quiet voice became lighter, and a tad happier. She hugged him again and gave him a good squeeze, which earned a chuckle out of him. "Really,_ thank you_." And they walked the rest of the way home silently.

Rachel called her dads right when she got home, and she went into her room for some privacy, which Finn understood. He didn't know how long she would be in there, so he did what he did best: lay down on the couch and watch TV. About 2 hours into it, he got extremely bored and decided to do something useful, so he went into his room, and began to do some research on his computer for the latest sports news: he forgot he had to return to the office tomorrow, but then remembered maybe he could just stop by for two hours while Rachel was at lunch with Kurt, but he had to call Quinn first. He heard Rachel's door creak open and she knocked lightly on his door, "Finn?"

"Come in!"

She opened the door and walked into his room, sitting on his bed watching him while he typed his last few words into his paper. "Hey," she said quietly. He looked up, finished with his paper, and noticed the smile on her face, which caused him to smile, "So, how was it?" and she smiled again,

"Well, we talked for three hours, but it was worth it. I told them everything: college… Brody… the Broadway auditions, and, about the… bridge thing," he knew what she was talking about, and she got kind of quiet, but continues right away, "but I also told them about you! And how you've helped me, and I told them about tonight, how we meet Kurt and everything!" and she couldn't help the smile that graced her face. "Mmm, that reminds me, I need to call Kurt later tonight to make plans for tomorrow!"

She then sighed contently, and laid her body down on the bed, closing her eyes. "I can't believe you, Finn." was all she said.

He laughed a little, not quiet understanding, "What do you mean?"

She sat up on her elbows and looked up at Finn, "I can't believe you're real, like sometimes I think you're just, like, a guardian angel that was sent down to save me, and help me put my life back together." She paused a little, "I couldn't be any more thankful, Finn." She looked at him sincerely, "Thank you, really, Finn. Thank you so much." And she climbed up the bed, next to where he was sitting, and kissed his cheek, once again, and a smile erupted onto his face. He thinks that's the nicest thing anyone has ever said to him.

And he's falling, _hard_ for this Rachel girl, and he doesn't know what the hell to do.

**AN: Wow! This is by far the longest chapter I have written, and I really hope you guys enjoy it! Sorry it took me a few days to get a new chapter up, but I wanted to make sure it was well worth the wait, and I hope this chapter was **** And, literally, thank you **_**so much**_** for all the reviews! They mean the world to me, and they make my day so much better! Also, thank you for the favorites, and the follows that this story received! It's much appreciated! Well, enjoy!**

**I do not own Glee, nor the characters.**

**I do not own "How to Save a Life" by The Fray (title of song)**

**Thank you!**


	5. Chapter 5

Finn woke up to the sound of fingers snapping loudly right next to his ears, "Finn! Wake up! You _cannot_ be sleeping right now, considering you two days of the past week! You have a damn column to keep going!" Finn lifted his head from his desk, rubbing his groggy eyes, quickly whipped away the slight drool on the side of his mouth, and looked up to see a pissed Quinn looking down at him with.

"I-I know, sorry Quinn, I just didn't really get much sleep last night…" Him and Rachel stayed up late just talking, going into depth about both of their lives: more about her background; about her dads, her past relationships, her high school experience, including Kurt, and everything else that really went along those lines, and he did the same, but he kept one thing from her: his break up with… Sarah, not wanting to bring up pained tears and unwanted memories; he kept his mouth shut about the topic and out of mind. He loved it more than anything,_ really_ sitting down and just talking with her, he hasn't really done that with her, well, except for the fact she told him everything that one night he first brought her over, but she never told him about her life, and he sort of liked sharing his with her, it made him feel… important. Like somehow, his life mattered to her and she wanted to know everything about him.

Quinn stared at him a little longer, and he got to stare at her for a moment, 'She really is kind of pretty…but she's not as pretty as Rachel…' and his eyes became big at the thought, 'Damnit Hudson, stop that!'

"Well, get along with it please! It needs to be done soon!" Finn looked up at her and smirked, "It'll be done within the hour."

"You better; I will be checking in later I guess, unless you leave the office before I do. If so, then just email me the report and I'll send it to the editor." Finn nodded causing her to turn on her heel, and leave his office, relief leaving Finn. He liked Quinn, but damn, could she been a pain in his ass sometimes, always nagging him to get things done.

He had about an hour to write his paper, Rachel went to lunch with Kurt an hour prior, and it should take two hours least, guessing that they had a lot to catch up on it looked like…. So, ho got to work and began to type up his report.

About forty-five minutes later, he finished the report; once pleased with his results, he sent it to Quinn's email, realizing she never stopped by. He packed his things in his bag, pushed his chair into his desk, shut off the lights, locked his office door, and began making his way to his car.

He was on the way home with yet again, that familiar tune began to play,

"_Highway run,_

_Into the midnight sun_

_Wheels go round and round_

_You're on my mind,"_

God, could he never get a break from this damn song? Is the radio station _trying_ to depress him? And he quickly shut it off before he could hear anymore.

He pulled up to his apartment complex, turning off his car, and heading to his apartment. He opened the door, closed it, and locked it with his key, "Rachel?" it had been about two hours, she should be home by now, he figured.

"In here!" Finn began walking down the hall to her bedroom, and opened the already ajar door all the way open, and leaned against the door frame, "So, how was lunch?"

She put her book down, and looked up at him with glistening eyes and a wide smile revealing her pearly white teeth, "It was so great! We had so much to catch up on! He told me about how he and Blain met, how his college experience has been, his family. And then I told him everything about me, and I even told him all about you!" Finn just looked at her with a big lopsided grin, causing her to pause and look at him, with a small smile on her lips, "What?"

"You just look really… happy." She gently brushed her bangs out of her eyes, and nodded, and continued, "I missed him so much, and it's just- it feels really good to have him in my life again. I didn't realize what I had lost when it was gone, and I couldn't be happier that we are friends again." Finn just kept smiling and nodded, "We planned on having lunch again next week,"

He kept looking at her, with a small smirk on his face, and she couldn't help but giggle a little, "Stop staring at me like that!"

"Like what?"

"I don't know… like," she looked into his eyes for a moment, "you… have a '_thing_' for me?" She knew sure as hell that was a bold thing to say, because she _obviously _had feelings towards him, he has really grown on her the past week, and she had come to conclusion yesterday that she thinks she really likes him; she wouldn't dare tell him, but it just sort of came out of her!

He looked taken aback by her question, well, more like statement. His eyes went wide and scrambled for something to say, "Uh- what? No I wasn't, I was just looking at you, because like, you know, you were telling a story and everything, and it's the right thing to look at you when you're telling me something and you know, and yeah…" and trailed off, he sounded like a _complete_ asshole.

Rachel giggled, "Finn, I was kidding," and he shook his head nervously, "So, uhh-" he needs to change the topic before something he says might come out that he could possibly regret, "I was just thinking we could order take out for like dinner, and even though dinner is a few hours away, maybe we should start like, thinking now…" He can't get _any _lamer than this, he just really can't.

Rachel nodded and motioned for them to go in the living room to look in the phone book for places to order from. They both walked down the hallway, Rachel following Finn's lead, "Did you want anything in particular?"

She didn't have anything in mind, "Not really, I guess I'm good with anything!" He nodded and went to retrieve the phone book to scroll through it for ideas.

Finally, they decided on a pizzeria they could order take out from. When they were looked at the book together, shoulder to shoulder on the kitchen counter, he looked over at her while her eyes kept glued to the book. Suddenly, a light switch went off in his brain. There was still something he needed to check off his list of 'Things to Make Rachel Berry Happy". He sort of came up with the title yesterday, thinking it made it more official! He thought about it for a few minutes, knowing how he was going to bring it up.

Rachel's dream is to be on Broadway, but all her auditions have failed her, causing her to just give up, but hopefully he can turn her decision around, maybe to get her back up on her feet and have her start auditioning again. She said she wanted to be on Broadway, and she is attending NYADA, so obviously, she must be pretty damn talented in order to be going there! He didn't know if this was going to work, but it was definitely worth the try. She's stubborn but he hopes he can get through to her; he has in the past, so maybe he could do it now. And besides, he'd be lying if he said he wasn't kind of excited to hear her voice…

She closed the phone book and put it back on the shelf, where it belonged. She turned back around, and Finn caught her off guard with the question, "Rachel?"

She smiled up at him, "Yes, Finn?"

"Could you sing for me?" Rachel was quiet for a moment before continuing, "Why?"

"Well, you must be talented, I mean, I assume so, and you're beautiful, you must have a voice to match you're beauty!" Wow, what. Did he really just say that to her?

She looked back at him a little shocked, he-he thinks she's… _beautiful_? She looked up at him and smiled brightly, "Thank you, Finn, that's sweet of you," and Finn nodded, trying to hide his red face. She sighed and looked up at him again, grabbing his hand and leading him to the living room, leading him to the couch for him to sit, while she stood in front of him. "Would you really like to hear me sing?" and he nodded with anticipation, "Well, I don't think I can pass up a request to sing…"

"_Share my life,  
Take me for what I am.  
'Cause I'll never change  
All my colors for you."_

Finn was in awe. He has never heard anything more beautiful, more angelic in his life. The moment she opened her mouth and her voice began to fill the room, his heart fluttered. She was _incredible_!

"_Take my love,  
I'll never ask for too much,  
Just all that you are  
And everything that you do._

_I don't really need to look  
Very much further/farther,  
I don't want to have to go  
Where you don't follow.  
I will hold it back again,  
This passion inside.  
Can't run from myself,  
There's nowhere to hide.  
(Your love I'll remember forever.)"_

Rachel closed her eyes, lost in the song. She put so much emotion and passion into the song, it.

"_Don't make me close one more door,  
I don't want to hurt anymore.  
Stay in my arms if you dare,  
Or must I imagine you there.  
Don't walk away from me.  
(No, don't walk away from me. Don't you dare walk away from me.)  
I have nothing, nothing, nothing  
If I don't have you, you"_

When she finished the song, he noticed not only a tear roll down her face, but he felt a tear glide down his face. He couldn't believe what he had just heard: this, this _girl_ has the most amazing voice he has ever heard in his entire life, and he's speechless for the longest time.

"That-that was amazing! I-I don't think I have ever heard anything more amazing in my life, I-I can't believe you're voice-" he kept stuttering, he was_ that_ amazed by her voice. He had a feeling she was talented, but _damn_ did she have a _voice_.

She blushed crimson red, and smiled shyly, "Thank you, Finn," and walked a little closer to him, "That means a lo-"

"Start auditioning again," Finn interrupted her in the middle of her sentence, causing her to come to a complete silence. Rachel started to shake her head, "Finn…"

"Rachel, you are so, _so_ talented, how could you not see that?" He saw a glistening tear slide down her face, "Anyone would be lucky as hell to have you in their Broadway production! They'd be deaf not to!"

"Finn, I already have! No one has taken me! I'm not cut out for Broadway, don't you see? I'm just not meant to be…" and slow, silent tears trickled down her face, staring at Finn innocently.

"Just because a few clueless, stupid, crazy people didn't allow you into their play doesn't mean you should give up! It should just push you more!"

She continued to shake her head, "I just can't take the rejection, Finn! I wouldn't be able to take the criticism they throw at me, it would be too much for me to take." She fell into his chest and wrapped her arms around his neck, and he slowly brought his arms around her torso, "It was hard to go through Finn," her voice became hushed, "I just can't"

"But, Rachel… you're voice, that's a voice that needs to be heard! You have to continue to pursue your goal!" She was silent for a while, "The Rachel that I see now isn't the high school Rachel I heard about that was once determined and persistent on her dream, wanting more than anything to be on stage, performing for people, doing what she loved most in the world." She still stayed silent, and Finn thought for a moment: "Close your eyes for me," he waited a few seconds for continuing, "did you close them?" she nodded, "Now, picture this for me: you, on stage, in front of hundreds of people. You are belting out the last note to the ending song of the show. You finish the note, and a roar of applause is followed after. Everyone in the audience is standing up, glowing smiles on their faces, hoping for an encore, wanting to see more of the brilliant, beautiful, talented Rachel Berry that is standing on stage, smiling out to the crowd." They're both silent for a moment, before Finn continues, "Do you see it, Rachel?" she doesn't say anything, nor move for a few minutes, before she slowly raises her head from his chest and nods at him, now with no more tears, just tear stains trailing down her face, and she lets out a sad sigh and nods, closing her eyes, "I do," and smiles a little. Finn places his fingers on her chin, making her turn her face to his, only to have it only inches apart from each other, "Do you think you could try auditioning again… please?" He begged her with his eyes, hoping more than anything she'd say yes. She looked from his eyes, to his lips, back up to his and smiles a little bit, before nodding slightly, and slowly, "I will," and she says it in merely a whisper.

Finn notices Rachel lean into him a little, and he starts doing the same, both of them closing their eyes, awaiting for waits about to happen, but suddenly, Finn's phone starts ringing in his pocket, breaking the moment between the two, both of them pulling apart, and looking away, Rachel looking at the ground and Finn grabbing his phone and looks at the caller ID, "Quinn" it reads, and he can't help but let out a loud groan, pushing the 'Ignore' button and putting his phone down, making a mental note in his head to call her later.

Rachel gets up from the couch and takes slow steps down to hall, heading for her room, but not before poking her head back into the living room to look back at Finn, "Finn?"

He turns his attention to her, "Yeah?" she looks down, and walks back over to the couch quickly, "Thank you, really, so much." He nods and smiles up at her, "I'll start searching for auditions tomorrow," and she quickly bends down to place a lingering kiss upon his cheek, before heading back to her room, leaving a blushing Finn smiling, placing his fingertips to the exact place she had kissed moments ago, still not use to the feeling of her cheek kisses. And Finn is left with the thought of wondering what if would be like if she kissed his lips instead.

**AN: Ahh, I know, I haven't updated in a week, but school, homework and Grease rehearsals take up a lot of my time during the week! But I have Thanksgiving break starting next week and my goal is to get up two more chapters next week! But again, THANK YOU ALL SO SO SOOO MUCH FOR ALL THE EVERYTHING! Follows, favorites, especially reviews! They make me so happy! Knowing that you all like my story, it means so much, more than you probably know! Well, enjoy! And sorry, I know it's super short, but I promise to make the next two longer!**

**I do not own Glee or the characters.**

**Nor do I own "How to Save a Life" by The Fray (title of song) or "I Have Nothing" by the lovely, Whitney Houston.**

**Thank you all so much! **


	6. Chapter 6

Finn is sitting on the couch, watching TV in the living room when Rachel comes swinging through the door, with a bright, wide smile and sparkling eyes. She closes the door and turns to Finn, expecting him to say something, "So, how did it go?" Finn smirks, knowing that's the question she was waiting for.

She walks over to the couch calmly, keeping her smile neutral, and shrugs her shoulders a bit, "Ehh," She then sits on the couch and looks over at him with that wide smile of hers again, and begins to speak up, excitedly, "The audition was amazing!" she grabs Finns arm and continues, "They said my voice was, and I quote, 'beautiful,' and 'powerful'!" she squeals, "Finn! I think they actually might like me!" Finn grabs her in for a big hug and holds her tight, "I'm so proud of you, Rachel! I told you they would like you! You're amazing, like I said! I didn't have any doubt!"

"And I have no one else to thank but you, Finn! Thank you so much!" she reciprocates the hug even tighter, if that was possible, "The director told me callbacks could be from within tonight until the next two days. Auditions closed today, so we'll see!" Finn pulled back and looked into her gorgeous, brown eyes, that he has a tendency to get lost in, "I knew you could do it Rachel! You just needed a little push, you know?" She nodded, looking grateful, and pulled Finn in again for a softer, more genuine, hug, and whispers another "thank you" into his ear.

Once again, Finns hunger gets the best of him, and it might be good timing to do so anyway, "How about we go to dinner, on me; a little way to say congratulations!" And she nods in agreement.

Both of them get up off of the couch, heading to the door. Rachel grabs her bag, and Finn quickly grabs his wallet and keys off of the kitchen counter. He opens the door for Rachel, "Why thank you, Finn, that's so chivalrous of you!" Finn has no idea what the word "chivalrous" means, but he takes it as a good thing because she smiled while saying it! He locks the door behind them, and they are head over to his car down in the parking lot.

"So, where did you want to go?" Rachel asks, innocently looking up at him. Finn thinks for a moment, and remembers that he got his pay check earlier today while at work. Will was being rather nice to him and all his co-workers, seeing's though he gave everyone a bonus as well, and it was _quite _the bonus, so why not take Rachel out for a treat?

"I was thinking Sardi's…?" and Finn can't miss the squeal that escaped Rachel's lips and how her eyes went wide at the name of the restaurant. "Are-are you serious? Are we _really_ going to Sardi's!?" Finn looks over amused at her, thinking he would play along, "Huh, so you've heard of it?"

She looks over a little shocked at Finn, "Are you kidding me?! Of course I have!" Finn starts to laugh, and she giggles, realizing he was playing with her, and hits his arm playfully, but then grabs hold of it, holding herself close to him as they head to his car.

When they arrive at Sardi's, Rachel is marveled at the sight of it all, which leads Finn to ask, "So you've heard of it, but have you ever been here?" Rachel ripped her eyes away from the pictures of the caricatures plastered on the wall that she was in awe of to look at Finn, and she nods her head in excitement, "Twice! Once with my dads when they took me to New York my sophomore year of high school, and another time with Kurt in junior year!" and she started looking around the restaurant again.

The waitress sits them down at their table for two and hands them their menus; they both start scrolling through them, looking for something to order, "Finn, I can't believe you took us here!" Finn just smiles and shrugs, as if it is no big deal at all.

Both of them order their food when the waitress comes back, and takes the menus with her. Finn looks over at her again, in that _way_ that he gives her sometimes, "You know, you're doing it again," Rachel smirks, looking at him from under her long lashes.

Finn sits up a little, "What?"

"That look you give me!"

"What look? I don't give you a look?" Finn stops for a moment "Do I?" he hasn't really realized it before…

She nods and starts to giggle, "Why? I mean, it's almost like it's _reserved_ for me!" and she's giggling more, teasing him, "What? No, I was just looking at you like any other person would…"

"Mhmm, alright Finn," and Finn leaves it there, not bothering to fight her against it anymore. But whatever that "look" was that he gave her, he has to stop before she continues to question him about it!

Their food is bought to their table, along with refills of their drinks, and they start to eat. Rachel sighs in delight at the first taste of her food, "It's so delicious," and Finn digs into his as well, and he can't help but do the same, nodding his head in agreement.

Finn mutters something about the food but Rachel couldn't quite understand, considering his mouth is stuffed with food, which Rachel couldn't help but chuckle again. He's just so cute and adorable, and she can't help but think that, nor is she going to stop herself. She really just cannot deny her feelings for Finn; she just doesn't know what to do with them…

Eventually, after they finish their dinner, and small talk here and there, Finn pays the bill, which Rachel thanks him for, and they leave. They start heading to their car when an idea pops into Finns head, "Before we go back to the apartment, do- do you want to go to Central Park? A walk at night sounds sort of nice," Finn shrugs and gives her a small side smile, hoping to convince her. Rachel looks over at Finn and smiles, "Yeah, that sounds nice,"

They get in the car and Finn drives to the park. Once they arrive, they both step out of the car and start heading down the sidewalk of the park. It was one of Rachel's instincts that she has acquired now, but she wrapped both of her arms around Finns arm as they walked. Rachel notices that Finn is looking down at her out of the side of her view, and smiles a little, "Finn,"

"Yes?" he's kind of in a daze; she's just so beautiful, with the light of the moon glistening in her eyes, and the illuminating her face.

"You're doing it again…" What?! He looks away quickly, keeping his gaze in front of him, and only in front of him, refusing to look at her. He doesn't think he can deny it now, that's like, what? The third, fourth time he has been caught looking at her this week? "Uh, sorry… you just look…"

She lets out a light chuckle, "What?"

"Beautiful," she goes silent for a moment, but she gives his arm a tight squeeze, and leans her head against him, "Thank you," she smiles to herself. Finn leans his head on top of hers, luckily, she is wearing heels, so he is able to do so.

"Thank you," she repeats again, and he nods, "really though, for _everything_. I could not be more thankful in my entire life than I am now. You have helped me in ways you wouldn't even know," she is silent again, but continues, "You have made me a better person, you have made me actually _happy_, truly, and utterly happy, the happiest I've been in years, and I can't thank anyone but you for it all! You've changed my life for the better, and I can never thank you enough. You're my hero, Finn." She stops them from walking and she gives him a hug, the most sincere she can make it, and stands on her tip toes, to place a kiss upon his cheek. Finn closes his eyes, loving to have the feeling of her lips on his skin. Finn doesn't really know what to say, it's a lot to take in, but in a good way! He didn't ever think he could be a… _hero_. Finn nods, and reciprocates the hug.

Eventually they pull away and continue walking, "You know," Finn begins to talk softly, "you've changed my life for the better to. Before I met you, I didn't see myself as anyone special. Just like some ordinary guy who worked for a newspaper. But now, I think better of myself, because of you." Rachel smiles and squeezes his arm tightly again.

"You are special, Finn, you always were, you just didn't see it." Finn laughs, but then again, he thinks it's the nicest thing anyone has ever said to him. She actually thought he was _special_. He mutters a "thank you", a little flustered from the compliment.

They continue to walk in silence for a while. Finn looks at his watch and finally notices the time: "is it really that late?!" He thinks, and he mutters over to Rachel, "It's uh- getting late, we should probably head back now," he receives a nod from her, so they turn around and head back to his car.

The ride home is silent; the only thing that's creating noise is some Billy Joel song playing on the radio, quietly.

Both are also quiet on the walk back to the apartment. Finn opens the door, letting Rachel walk in first. He walks in behind her, and locks the door behind him. Once he headed into the kitchen to place his keys on the counter, Rachel walks in from behind him, and interrupts him with a question he wasn't expecting at all:

"Finn… do-do you like me?" She thinks she sounds like a child asking this.

Finn stays silent for a moment, "Of course I do," but Rachel realizes he is staying away from the real question. "No, Finn, I mean… do you really like me?" he's silent for a while, so she continues, "Over the past 3 weeks we've known each other, I just couldn't help but…" Oh, God, she's going to bring it up, "have feelings for you…" she doesn't dare look up at Finns reaction, "And the feeling won't go away, it just keeps nagging at me. And I want to act upon them, but I just- I don't know how you feel, but…" before Rachel can continue, she feels Finns fingers lightly touch her chin, causing her to look up at his face. He's looking at her so intently, but then suddenly, he leans down, and places a kiss on her lips, softly and slowly. She's still for a moment, stuck in a shocked state of mind, but soon reciprocates the kiss.

She brings her arms up to wrap around his neck to bring him slightly closer, and he wraps his around her waist, doing the same. The kiss is light, and soft, but yet passionate and full of emotion. Finn sees fireworks go off in his head. Eventually, he pulls away from the blissful kiss that she never wanted to end, and looks down at her, "Does that answer your question?" and he gives her a smirk.

She is still a tad shocked, but nods her head nevertheless, "You know, you can kiss me again if you want to…"

"I want to," and so he leans down, and kisses her again. "I can get real used to this," Finn thinks to himself. He pulls her in closer to kiss her more passionately, and she kisses back just as fiercely.

**AN: First, I would like to apologize for all of the mistakes! I re-read my last chapter and I noticed a couple, so I'm sorry! Also, I apologize because this is such a short chapter!**

**Secondly, here it is! The kiss that was much anticipated for. ****BUT****, even though they have shared their feelings with each other, it doesn't mean that the excitement and surprises are over, I still have much to come, so expect more!**

**I would also like to again, thank all of those who take the time to read, review, favorite, follow, and etc.! It means a lot to me! The reviews really do make my day! Well, I hope you enjoyed!**

**I do not own Glee, nor the characters. I do not own "How to Save a Life" by The Fray (title of song)**

**Thank you! **


	7. Chapter 7

Finn wakes up the next morning to find Rachel wrapped up in his arms, yet once again, but instead of being nervous to stay in the embrace, he just pulls her closer to him, smiling to himself as he does so. Everything is now out in the open; they confessed their feelings to each other and shared kisses throughout the night; it was everything Finn could have hoped for with Rachel. He looks down at her in awe; she's stunningly beautiful as the small amount of light shines on her face that comes out through the little open space of the curtains.

Finn gently lays his head in the crevice of her neck, and gives her shoulders tiny little pecks; he feels her stir a bit in his embrace. Rachel's eye lashes slowly flutter open and they look up to meet with the eyes of has her all wrapped up. Finn gives her a small side smile, and she does the same.

"Hi," he says looks into her eyes and notices a small sparkle in them he hadn't noticed before.

"Hi," she grins even wider and turns in his embrace to face his body, and curl up into him; they stay still for a moment. Finn thinks he can get used to this for a while.

About 10 minutes of cuddling later, Rachel takes the covers off of her, and slowly starts to get up out of bed, but not before Finn grabs her by the waist and brings her back down on the bed, causing her to giggle, and for him to smile. "Where do you think you're going, missy?" Finn questions with a smirk.

"Finn, we have to get ready for the day!" and smiles down at him and another giggle bubbles out of her.

"Ready for what…?"

"…Just get change, Finn!" she hits his arm playfully, gets up from the bed, and walks down the hall to her room.

Finn lies in bed for a while longer and stares at the ceiling. He's only known Rachel for about a month, and hell, they've only confessed their feelings not only a day ago, but he's starting to really fall for her, and he thinks he never wants to lose her.

An hour later, Finn is being dragged by Rachel down the busy streets of New York City. He has to give her a round of applause; she's half his height and weight, and yet she doesn't seem to be struggling at all at the fact she's tugging by his hand with her far ahead. Suddenly, they come to an abrupt stop and Rachel stares up, smiling brightly with her eyes fixated on whatever it is. Finn looks up to, to find a large _Wicked _poster board ahead, along with a theater right beside it. "We're here, Finn!" she rips her eyes away from the poster to look at him with excited eyes. It hits him, 'That's what she wanted to do! She took me to see _Wicked_!' He smiles down at her, and looks back up at the poster. Even though Broadway and acting wasn't really his thing, he was kind of excited to see it anyway! For as long as he has lived in New York, he has never seen a show. She drags him up to the ticket booth, "Two tickets for the Broadway showing of _Wicked_, please!"

"Oh, Rachel, you don't need to pay for my ticket! Here let me-" but before he can finish his sentence, he is cut off.

"Finn, its fine! I wanted to take you here. Just… consider a thank you gift…" and she smiles up at him sincerely, he's about to protest again but she opens her mouth to speak, "Please? Can I just buy you one?" She's staring at him from under her lashes and a small smile on her lips.

Finn hates to have her pay for him; I mean a ticket for a Broadway play is really expensive! But she really wants to and she's a stubborn person, so he nods, and kisses her cheek lightly, "Thank you," and smiles up at him and gives the ticket usher the money, to which he gives her two tickets in return. Rachel grabs Finns hand and drags him through the theater doors.

They take their seats in the middle of audience and sit down. Rachel looks up at him and begins to talk, "I'm actually quite surprise we were able to get tickets! Normally they sell pretty fast, especially for _Wicked_!" she takes a breath and looks up at the Broadway stage, smiling, "It's not as good as the original, but the reprise is still amazing!" Finn looks over at her to see she is still staring at the stage in awe.

"One day you'll be right up there to, Rach" Rachel looks over at him, and looks down shyly, and smiles at the nickname. She looks up at him again with sincere filled eyes,

"Thank you, Finn… I really hope so," just then, the dimmed theater goes dark, and the curtains open, causing Rachel to turn forward and keep her attention towards to show. Finn feels her fingers slowly lace through his and her head rest against his shoulder. He looks down at her and smiles and then back up at the stage, seeing someone descend down in a bubble (which he can only guess is Glinda, the good witch, by looking at his playbill). He really does believe Rachel will be up on that stage one day, wowing the audience and keeping them in awe, and he will be right there, front row and center being the proudest he could ever be of her.

The curtain opens again with the whole cast of Wicked taking their bows, and Rachel immediately stands up, clapping as loud as she can, with Finn doing the same. He has to admit, it was the best Broadway play he has ever seen! Well… the only he has ever seen, but it really was great! The lights slowly come up as the curtain closes and everyone slowly picks up their belongings and shuffles out of the theater.

When Finn and Rachel come out of the theater, they are hit with cold air. Rachel shivers a little, so Finn shrugs off his heavy jacket, and slips it over her shoulders, earning a smile from Rachel, "Thank you, Finn," and he wraps his arms around her as they walk back to their apartment.

Rachel looks up at Finn, smiling again, "Wasn't it great , Finn?!" he looks down at her and laughs at her childish excitement, which he can't help but think is cute. "I actually really looked it! I thought… Eva…"

"Elphaba," Rachel corrects, giggling,

"Elphaba, was a pretty cool character, who knew that she was actually a good person?" Rachel just giggled again and laid her head on his shoulder. The rest of the walk to the apartment is silent. Finn looks down at his watch, it was only 4pm.

"Hey, Rachel, can we stop somewhere before going back?" she looks up at him and nods. After a few of terrible attempts, Finn finally catches a taxi, and opens the door for Rachel to get in first. She smiles up at him, "You're so chivalrous, Finn," and she gets in. He doesn't know what the hell that word means but he's assuming it's a compliment, and he smiles, climbing in behind her. Finn leans over to the cab driver, and tells him where to go, softly, so Rachel doesn't hear. Rachel looks over at Finn questionably, but only earns a smirk from Finn.

The ride is about ten minutes long. Finn pays the taxi driver, and gets out of the car, waiting for Rachel to do the same. She climbs out and he shuts the door behind her, grinning. Rachel looks up at the building more confused than ever, "You wanted to take me to the American Museum of Natural History?" she looks up at Finn to see him smiling like an idiot.

"Well, just a certain part of the museum…" Finn grabs her and they walk up the steps to the museum. He pays for them both when they enter, and Finn heads off into his destination. After a few minutes of walking, Finn stops in front of the exhibit he wanted to take her to, and smiles at her. She looks up at giggles at him, "So you wanted to take me to the Rose Center for Earth and Space?" she looks over at him and smiles. He nods happily at her and starts to walk into the exhibit, causing her to follow him in. Finn stops in front of two double doors in the exhibit, and grabs her hand. "Here we are…" and he opens the door for them. Once Finn and Rachel are inside the room, she looks around, smiling. "Finn, it's beautiful." They were in the star-gazing room. New York City is full of city lights that you can never see the stars at night; so she was in total awe of them. Finn pulled her over to the middle of the room, making sure to not bump into the few other visitors in the room. He sits down on the ground, and pats the spot next to him, referring she do the same, so she does. They both lay there down on the ground looking up at the stars. They are both silent, both just on the ground looking up at the stars. "Thank you for taking me here, Finn." Rachel turns her head to the side to look at Finn. She grabs his hand and gives it a squeeze. Finn leans over and pecks her on the cheek.

"They're all so beautiful." She looks back up at them. Just then her finger goes up and she's pointing at one, "Do you see that one, Finn? That's my favorite. It's the brightest one of them all." Finn looks over at her.

"Mm, I don't think so…" she looks over at him questionably.

"Really…? You don't think it's the brightest?" She looks from him to the sky.

He shakes his head and stares at her. "No, because the brightest star isn't up there, the brightest star is right here." He pauses and she looks over at him, "Her name is Rachel Berry." Rachel's face is pulled up into the biggest smile he has seen all day. She leans over to Finn, and kisses him softly, yet passionately. She leans her head on his chest and has her arms wrapped around his torso. He pulls his arm up and wraps it around her back, holding her close, like if he held any more loosely, she would slip through his hold.

About an hour later, Finn and Rachel are exiting the museum, stepping down the steps, hand in hand. They had decided to tour a few other exhibits of the museum before they left, Finn had bought Rachel a small whale stuffed animal, to which she gave him a kiss on the cheek in return.

Once again, he had failed miserably multiple times at hailing a taxi. He had finally got one, and gave the taxi driver directions to the apartment complex. Finn and Rachel sat in the back silently, with her leaning her head on his shoulder, feeling content and happy.

They finally reach the apartment. Rachel walks down the hall to her room, and places the stuff animal on her bed, smiling down at it. She walked back out of her room and down the hall; she looked inside Finn's bedroom to find him in there putting his wallet and cellphone on his dresser. Rachel knocked lightly on the door frame while leaning against it.

Finn looked up and smiled at her, "Hey there. Did you have fun today?"

She walks over to him and nods, "Yes, I did! Thank you so much, Finn" and she smiles up at him.

He looks down at her for a moment before saying anything. "You know, I wasn't kidding about what I said earlier. You will be on that stage one day, and I will be right there, cheering the loudest for you in that audience than anyone ever will."

"Oh, Finn," and places her hands on both sides of his face, her lips being inches away from his. "what did I ever do to deserve you in my life?"

"I could ask the same thing," and he kisses her on the lips lightly, but it slowly turns into a more passionate, fierce kiss. Rachel's tongue demands entrance in Finns mouth, to which he gladly accepts, and his doing the same. Their bodies are presses up together, molding into each other. Rachel's hands travel down his chest over his shirt. They reach the bottom of his shirt, and she tugs on it lightly. She begins to pull it over his head, and he helps her do so as well. Rachel kisses Finn even hard as her hands travel down his chest and stomach.

Finns hands are on the bottom of her shirt, and he's lifting it over her heard, but only interrupting their intimate kiss for just a second. Finn can feel their skin touching together and he loves it. Her hands comb through his hair as his hands are holding her face. Her hands are now on his belt, slowly undoing it, and before she knows it, his pants are on the ground, also causing her to notice the bulge in his under pants more clear now. Finns hand is now on the zipper of her skirt. He pulls the zipper down, and her skirt glides down her legs. Finn starts to direct Rachel over to the bed. The back of his legs hit the bed, and he slowly lays down on it, Rachel doing the same. The kiss becomes passionate, his hands tangled in her hair, and her hands wrapped around his neck. Finns hands are now on her back, right on the clasp of her bra. She becomes nervous. She's always been a self-conscious person, especially ever since what happened with her old Broadway auditions. Finn finally unclasps, her bra, and it slowly falls of her shoulders, and down her arms. Her arms are over her breast, keeping them covered, to save the embarrassment.

"Hey, it's fine, Rach…" Finn looks up into her eyes and kisses her softly. Rachel nods and slowly moves her arms away to reveal herself to Finn. He looks down at her breast and back at her eyes, "You're beautiful," she smiles up at him, and he begins to kiss her again. His hands are now on both of her breast, being careful not to hurt her, and being gentle. Rachel let out a small moan, which made Finn smirk a little. Finn fingers traveled down her body and touched the top of her lace underwear. Rachel's eyes opened, and panic filled her. "Finn, wait…" he opened his eyes and looked into hers,

"Are you okay, Rachel? Did… did I hurt you?" Finns eyes started to fill with worry.

"No, no! You're wonderful Finn, I'm just, just I don't think I'm ready yet…" she looked down a tad shameful "I'm still a virgin," she whispered.

Finn nodded to her, and pulled her close to him, "It's okay, Rachel. We don't have to do anything you aren't ready for."

She looked into Finns eyes, "I'm sorry, Finn"

Finn pulled her body to his and held her to him, "Really, it's okay Rachel. I'm not going to make you do anything you don't want to." Rachel nodded and wrapped her arms around him.

The words left his mouth before he could stop them, "I love you."

**AN: HUGE apology for the long absence! School for the past month has been working me to death, I had many projects, and I did my school play, Grease. But I've been on break for a few days now, so I plan on getting a few more chapters up as well! I also apologize for any mistakes! I just wanted to get a chapter up after the long wait, so I hope this is okay! Thank you all for the reviews, and alerts, and favorites, and follows! It really does mean so much to me that you all actually like my story! This chapter was just one of the "fluff" chapters, but there will be A LOT going on next chapter, so please continue reading! Reviews, favorites, and follows are reallt appreciated!**

**Thank you!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Glee also any of the characters.**

**I do not own "How to Save a Life" by The Fray (title of story)**

**I do not own the Broadway production of **_**Wicked**_

**I do not own the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, New York.**


	8. Chapter 8

Rachel maneuvers herself between the book case, and the TV in the living room, trying to dust it off a little. Finn went to work a couple hours prior, leaving her at the apartment by herself. Rachel couldn't think of much to do so she decided cleaning up the place a little: vacuuming, dusting, doing the dishes from the night before, etc. She had popped in her "Funny Girl" cd in the stereo, and had sung along to it will cleaning; she kind of enjoyed the simple things like this.

She had thought about her week with Finn. She can now officially say they have been together for a week. Last week, he had told her- he had told her he loved her.

_"I love you." He was looking down at her with a sparkle in his eye._

_ She hadn't expected it at all. She stayed silent for a moment, but she had then felt tears come up to her eyes, a few trickling down her face. Had he really said that to her? He loved her? _

_ Finn had become worried then, and wiped her tears away, "Rach, I'm- I'm sorry are you okay?" She grabbed his wrists with her hands to stop her, and then a smile and been brought to her face, "Oh, Finn," and laughed a little, to happy to do anything but, "I love you too," and she leaned up to kiss him, releasing his wrists, and moving her hands up to cup his face._

She smiled at the memory. They had spent the rest of the night just cuddling and lying in bed together. Talking every once in a while. She truly loves Finn and she doesn't know what she would ever do without him in her life. She couldn't be any happier than she is now.

Rachel's voice comes to an abrupt stop when she heard the door close. She had the stereo playing loud enough to where she didn't even hear it open. She turns herself around to face the door, but finds no one there. "Finn?" she calls out in wonder. She stalks into the kitchen, wondering if he had gone in there. She takes a quick glance at the clock; it was 2:45, Finn wouldn't be home for another 15 minutes. But then the thought occurs to her that he could have gotten off early. "Finn?" she calls out again, while heading out of the kitchen. "Where the hell is he, does he not hear me calling out his name?" she thinks while walking down the hall to his room.

She pokes her head inside Finns room and doesn't see him in there. She walks in puzzled, "Finn?" knocks on his closed bathroom door, and opens it, but he's nowhere to be found. She walks out of his room more confused than ever. Did she just imagine hearing the door open? She hadn't heard any footsteps or talking. But she takes a glance down to the farthest room down the hall, her room. It's the only room she has yet to check but why would he even go in her room? She decides she was just imaging the noise of the door being closed minutes ago, and takes a few steps down the hall into the living room; but, her curiosity picks at her and she takes a peek at the door to her room again, it was closed. "It wouldn't hurt to check" she thinks.

She walks down the hall to her bedroom, opens the door to her room, and steps inside. "Finn?" she glances around the room and notices it empty. She spins back around on her heel, ready to leave, but she feels a hand roughly grab her wrist, stopping her in her tracks. "You're not going anywhere, sweetheart." He says mischievously. She knows that voice, she racks through her brain and it goes off in her head. _Brody_.

She suddenly begins to panic, and whips around to face him. He has a devilish grin on his face, his eyes dark and hooded. Her breathe hitches in her throat and she tries to yank her wrist free, she's speechless, and terrified. She wants to scream but nothing escapes her throat. Brody quickly reaches for her other wrist, and pulls her closer to him, tightly, "Missed me? Because I've missed you." She realizes she has tears rushing down her face, "How- how did you find me?" she whispers hoarsely.

He lets out a bitter chuckle and stares down at her with his cold, hard eyes. "Let's just say I have my ways." He begins to pull her along, out of her room, roughly. "Let go of me!" she screams at him. She thrashes at him, trying everything she can to get him off of her. She knocks something out of his pocket, but he doesn't seem to notice, he's too caught up in dragged her with him. She doesn't have time to notice what the object was until he finally moves her from her spot. She tried to keep herself still, but he managed to drag out anyway. He reaches the front door, and opens it wildly. She tries desperately to rip her wrist out of his grasp, tears spilling down her face, breathing heavy, eyes filled with fear. He pulls her out into the hall way of the apartment complex and tugs her along again, leaving the apartment door open, seemingly without a care. He smiles back at her, "Looks like you're not going to be seeing that bastard boyfriend of yours anymore." which causes to her cry even harder. He picks her up over her shoulder and rushes out of the complex, making sure no one notices him. She bangs his back and kicks around, trying _anything _to get free. "Quit it!" he yells at her.

He finally reaches his old, beat up, pick-up truck and throws her inside the passenger seat, locking the door before he closes it, making sure she doesn't get out before he gets in. Rachel is shaking uncontrollably, and puts her hands to her face, crying in them. _No, no, no, no, NO_. How is this happening?

Brody gets into the driver's seat, and looks at her with cold eyes, and an evil grin plastered on his face, while igniting the car. "S' good to have you back, babe." and pulls out of the parking lot.

The only thing running through her mind at the moment is Finn and hoping, _praying_ he can help her.

Finn enters the apartment complex with a smile on his face, waiting with anticipation to see Rachel, his _girlfriend_. He can actually say that now. He can actually kiss her without hesitation. Cuddle with her without feeling the need to pull away. Holding her hand without wondering if it would last. The thought just puts a bigger smile on his face.

He climbs the stairs to his floor, holding the flowers behind his back. He stopped by the market after work to pick her up some, hoping to surprise her with them.

Finn reaches his apartment, and notices the door is open. _What the hell? _"Rachel?" He steps inside his apartment skeptically. "Rachel he calls again?" He steps into the apartment, hearing one of Rachel's cd's on. He looks takes a look in the kitchen and doesn't find her there. He glances down the hall, and notices the rug is haphazardly pushed over all the way to the side of the wall. He takes a look inside his room and calls out her name again, no answer. He quickly runs to her room, "Rachel!?" he begins to panic now. _Where the hell is she?! _He looks around her room, looking for anything that might be different. The rug in her room is the same as the one in the hall way was; but all her stuff still seems to be here. But then he catches it; a wallet on the ground. He bends down to pick it up, opens up the wallet and looks at the ID. His blood boils; he doesn't think he could be any angrier than he is at this moment. It's Brody's ID; the son of a bitch kidnapped her.

Finn looks through the rest of his wallet; there's nothing else in it besides twenty dollars in cash, and membership card to that dumb ass strip club a few blocks away from the complex. He strides out of the room, Brody's wallet in hand, and heads to the living room. He's so angry, _so god damn angry_, how could he have let this happen to Rachel? To _his_ Rachel? Tears sting his eyes, and he scrunches his face in pain and hurt, and balls his hands into fist. He lets a loud, piercing yell rip through his throat, yelling as loud as he could, letting out his frustration. He could care less if anyone heard him right now. He quickly pulls out his phone, and dials 911.

"911, what's your emergency?"

"My girlfriend, Rachel," he cries into the phone, "she's been kidnapped by this- this asshole,"

"Okay sir, don't panic. What is your name?

"Finn… Finn Hudson."

"Can you tell us anything you may know where she may be?"

"I- I have no damn clue," and this just makes him cry even harder, his hot tears burning his eyes.

"Where was she last seen?"

"Our apartment,"

"Where is that, sir?"

"10 Hanover Square, apartment 142" his hands start to shake,

"What is this woman's name sir? Can you tell us what she looks like?"

"Her name is Rachel- Rachel Berry. She's about 5'3, brown wavy hair, uh, big beautiful brown eyes, uh, olive toned skin." He gets a mental picture of Rachel in his head while describing her which makes him even more angry and sad, if that was even possible.

"Do you know anything about who may have kidnapped her?"

"His name is Brody, Brody- uh," Finn pulls out his ID, "Weston, um, has short, brown hair, uh, blue eyes, 5'10, twenty-five," and Finn continues to give off what is written on Brody's damn ID.

"Okay sir, the cops are now on their way investigating the case. We will try to find Rachel as hard as we can. We will be calling you if anything comes up. Just stay calm and wait at your apartment. We will take care of it." Finn listens to the woman on the other end, and he looks at the phone puzzled a little.

"I'm sorry ma'am, but I am going to go out and find my girlfriend. Just- just call me if you know anything-"

"But sir-"

"No, I have to, I _need_ to. Thank you." and Finn hangs up the phone.

Finn strides back over to the couch; grabs his jacket, and walks out the door. He is going to hunt down Brody and get Rachel, even if he has to kill Brody in the process; he will.

Rachel looks out the window of the car and doesn't dare look at the terrible man sitting across from her in the driver's seat. Brody quickly glances at Rachel and smiles, "Don't be like that babe-"

"Don't you _dare_ call me that" she looks at him and stares at him.

His eyes go hard and his face straightens, "I can call you whatever the hell I want." and Rachel looks away. She can't fight back with him; she is still terribly scared of him, of what he could do to her.

Five minutes later, she finds the car pulling into an apartment complex, _his_ old, run-down apartment complex. "Well, I have to grab a few things from the place before we leave, but you're coming with me." He gets out of the car, and locks it after he gets out, traveling around to her side, and unlocks it again to retrieve her. He opens her door and tries grabbing for her, but she kicks him his chest, causing him to take a few steps back and to cough wildly. "Bitch!" and he lunges at her again, grabbing her more forcefully and yanking her out of the car.

They enter his apartment, and he brings her into his room, pulling out a suitcase from under the bed, and he starts rummaging through his drawers, filling his suitcase with his clothes. "Where- where are you going," she barely whispers.

"_We _are going to a hotel in near central park for a few nights, and _then_, we will be taking a road trip. I'm hoping to move far, far away from here," he looks at her coldly, "where no one can find us."

_No_, she thinks. He can't be serious! Tears start to slowly roll down her face again, and he looks up, pleased at the sight. "Aw, does this make you so happy, it brings you tears of joy?" and he cackles evilly. Rachel shakes her head and hugs herself. _Finn, please_, she begs to herself.

It takes Brody ten minutes to pack up his belongings and they leave again, walking through the parking lot. "You'll be good in that outfit for a few days, babe." She feels physically sick when he calls her that.

He roughly puts her back in the car, and does the same routine where he locks the car. He throws his suitcase in the back of the truck and gets in, driving off quickly.

They pull up into the hotel near Central Park, and it was actually a nice hotel. _How the hell did he even afford to stay here for a few days, let alone tonight?_ Rachel thinks. "Nice, right?" Brody smirks over at her. "It's pretty great to actually have money now."

"Where- where did you get the money?" he sighs and looks over at her, with cold eyes yet again, "What? You don't think I'm capable of earning enough money to get something like this?" he shakes his head, but a smirk is brought to his face. "It was just a friendly loan from the bank," and her insides churn at that.

He gets out of the car in the hotel parking lot, locks it, grabs his suitcase, and then gets Rachel, keeping hold of her tightly with his other hand. He drags her discretely through the lobby, telling the lobbyist about his room reservations. The lobbyist look over at the pair suspiciously, noticing his tight hold on Rachel, but not asking anything, instead handing over the room key. They take the elevator up the room and Rachel begins to shake.

The elevator reaches their floor, and Brody pulls Rachel down the hall to their room number. He opens it, and she looks inside to find a one room bedroom, with a kitchen, a small living room, and a small kitchen. Brody pulls Rachel inside, and locks the door behind him, dropping his bag, and looks mischievously at Rachel, which caused her to take a few steps back.

"I was thinking…" his eyes scan her body, lingering on her boobs for a moment longer than her other features, "that we could go to bed, _early_."

Rachel begins to shake her head, knowing where he is getting at, and begins to cry, "No, Brody, _please_." And she begins to back away from him, hitting the wall lightly behind her.

"Oh come on babe. You've been such a prude the last two year, I've let you had your space." His eyes roam over her body again, "I think it's about time we do it," he steps forward her at grabs her wrist. His breathe is hot on her neck and she looks away, tears streaming down her face.

"Please! No, Brody, please, please…" but he doesn't stop. His hands roam all over her body, which causes her to tense up and not to move.

"Now, quit being like that baby. I won't hurt you," but right after that statement, a wicked smirk appears on her face. She shakes her head, and searches her brain her anything to say.

"I- I'm on my period." She breathes out. This causes him to look up at her and his eyes go cold.

"Okay. But that doesn't stop me from doing this," and his hands grope her breasts. She holds back a cry. She can't believe this is happening. He begins to attack her neck with kisses, "Pull up your shirt," he whispers against her neck.

She shakes her head, "Brody, no, please! Please, please, _please_." He pulls back and looks at her hard. "Fine," he spits out. He backs away a few feet away from her, "We leave the day after tomorrow. So…" he smirks at her, "just be ready for tomorrow night." He backs away and heads into the bathroom. Rachel then breaks down completely. She sinks down against the wall, her face buried in her knees, and she tugs at her hair, sobs shaking her whole entire body uncontrollably. Once again, all she can even think about it Finn.

Finn gets in his car, and pulls out of the parking lot as fast as he can. He doesn't know where the hell they are, but he will search every high and low of this whole damn city if he has to; but his first instinct is to check Brody's apartment. He has only been there once, when he and Rachel had gone to get her stuff, but he still remembers where it is. He pulls into the apartment complex parking lot and stops his car at the first free parking space he finds. He gets out of the car and sprints to the apartment as fast as he can. He reaches it and tries to open it; it's locked. Well, damn it of course it's locked.

Finn backs away from the door as far as he can and runs right towards it, hit it with his shoulder. _SHIT, _pain surges through his whole upper arm, and he holds it with his hand. But he looks up, and notices the door had opened, ajar. _Football practice in high school really did pay off_, he thinks. He searches through the whole apartment, noticing that the drawers in Brody's room are open and they are half empty. Rachel and Brody are in nowhere in sight. Finn falls to his knees in frustration. He probably should have known Brody wouldn't bring Rachel here; this would have been the very last place he would bring her to. _Think Hudson, think! Where would they go?_ It suddenly occurs to Finn: the strip club. They may not be there, because what they are even doing at a strip club, but Finn knows Brody has a membership there, which obviously means someone there knows of him. They could know of anything about Brody. Finn rushes out into of the apartment and runs to his car, pulling out as fast as he can.

Ten minutes later, Finn is pulling into the strip club. He has only ever been here once with a few of his buddies, Puck, and Sam, but that was years ago. Finn walks inside and looks around. He sees neon signs blinking all over, girls half naked, dancing around pulls, with men waving money at them, some even throwing money. He walks up to the desk near the entrance and sees a man covered in tattoos and piercings. He looks at Finn, and simply says, "ID?"

Finn looks at the man and shakes his head, "I uh, I actually have a question, about someone who goes here, that you may know…?" The man looks suspiciously, but nods at him, letting him continue.

"Do you know of a Brody Weston?" the man looks up, looks like he is searching through his brain for the name, and then looks at Finn, "I know he comes here a lot, I don't know the guy, but one of my friends who work he knows him." He pauses for a moment, looking at Finn even more suspiciously, "You, uh… want me to get him for you?"

Finn nods eagerly, "Yes, please, if you could." The man nods back at Finn and heads back of the club to retrieve he would think his friend. Finn waits near the entrance awkwardly, feeling out of place here. Now that he is older, he isn't all into the whole strip clubs, and porn thing as he was when he was in high school.

Finn starts to become impatient once the man has been away for two minutes. Finally, what seems like a whole lifetime later, Finn sees the man with someone else beside him come walking back up.

"This is Frank, he knows of Brody." _Frank_, looks Finn up and down with a cigar hanging from his mouth, with his hands in his pockets.

"What do ya wanna know about Brody?" Frank questions suspiciously.

"I, uh, I wanted to know if you-" Finn stops abruptly. He needs to tell this man what happens for him to actually see if he knows something. "Brody has kidnapped my girlfriend, Rachel-"

"Oh, Rachel! Yes Brody has told me about her," and Finn nods, thinking he might get somewhere here, hopefully. "The kid had kidnapped her?"

Finn nodded and looked down at his feet, "Yeah, but um… do you think, you might have any idea, at all, anything, of where they could have gone?" Finn looked back up at pleaded to Frank. He desperately needed to know.

Frank looked at Finn, and sighed, "Listen kid… Brody might have mentioned something about this plan. He didn't want me to tell nobody-"

"Please!" Finn yells out, "please, just tell me! This is very important. She's in danger I believe, and if I don't find her… I don't know what will happen, sir….please."

Frank looks a little sympathetic for Finn, and nods in understanding. "Brody had said that he was going to get some money, hell I don't know where the kid planned where, but he was. He said he was going to 'pick up his girl' and take back was "rightfully his'. He said he was gonna take this girl to a hotel of some sort, and uh skip town I believe." Frank looks at Finn again, "Listen, I've known Brody ever since he started coming her years ago. We've talked countless times; I think he looks to me as a friend. But… I know the kid can be a real jackass. So…" and gave Finn a side small smile, "why don't you go get that girl back, ehh?"

Finn smiled at this Frank. "Thank you, Frank, uh, sir." Frank nodded at Finn. He turned on his heel and left the bar. He had hoped into his car, and drove back to his apartment. He was going to look up every damn hotel in the Manhattan area, and track that son of a bitch Brody down until he finds the girl he loves.

Finns phone started to go off in the middle of his way back to the apartment. He picked up his phone frantically, and answered it, "Hello?"

"Finn Hudson?"

"Yes," he answered,

"Brody Weston, we had found something on him." Finn had little of hope go through him at that moment. It could mean they had found Rachel. "Mr. Weston, had robbed a bank, nearly an hour ago, right outside of Manhattan. It was reported to another police station, so the news has just reached us. We are now trying to track him down, but we will keep you updated Mr. Hudson."

"Thank you," Finn then hung up the phone, numbly. _Brody had robbed a bank? What the hell is this kid up to?_ _Well now I know what Frank had meant about Brody getting money. _Finn shook his head in anger. _Did Brody really think he was going to get away with this? Hell, he robbed a damn bank! Smart move jackass. _

Finn arrived back at his apartment, quickly pulled out his laptop, and opened up Internet. He searched a list of all the hotels in the Manhattan area. The search results that pulled up were unbelievable. There were hundreds of hotels. _It was better than nothing_, Finn thought. He quickly printed out the results, and tucked them into his pocket. He was going to go to every single one of those hotels, and get back Rachel.

**AN: Ahh, again, I am SO sorry about the long wait! But I really hope this chapter makes up for it! I think it is the longest I have written, as well as possibly the best chapter yet. There is still TONS of action yet to come, and I believe the next chapter will be better! **** And I promise the next chapter wont be such a long wait!**

**Also, I have also had the urge to start another fic. I think it might be a good idea to start another because if I tend to get writers block for one story, I can work on another. So if you guys would, please send me some prompts and I will try to write some!**

**Thank you all so much! The reviews make me so happy, as well as favorites, and follows! Enjoy! **

**I do not own "How to Save a Life" by The Fray (title of song)**

**I do not own Glee or the characters**


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